KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A young girl has committed suicide in Afghanistan’s central Ghor province amid a recent surge in the suicide rate among women and girls in the country.
Speaking with KabulNow, a local source identified the young girl as Salima, originally from Tiora district, who committed suicide by shooting herself with a gun on Wednesday, August 21.
The source attributed the incident to family issues and depression.
The local Taliban authorities have yet to comment on the incident.
This incident follows two other suicide tragedies in northern Faryab province, where two young girls, Soraya, 19, and Nargis, 14, took their own lives earlier this month.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghanistan has experienced a significant rise in suicide rates, especially among women and girls.
This surge is attributed to the Taliban’s harsh restrictions, domestic violence, a deteriorating humanitarian crisis, and high unemployment rates.
Under Taliban rule, life has become extremely challenging for most Afghans, particularly women and girls, who have been deprived of fundamental rights such as education, employment, access to parks and gyms, travel, and other freedoms.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that suicides are nearly twice as common among males as females worldwide. However, in Afghanistan, around 80% of all suicide attempts in recent years have been made by women.
Investigative data from Etilaatroz and KabulNow revealed that in the past year alone, a staggering 213 men and women, nearly 80% of whom were under the age of 20, committed suicide across Afghanistan.
