KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A 16-year-old girl in northern Faryab province committed suicide by ingesting acid to escape a marriage that was forced on her without her consent, according to local sources.
Speaking with KabulNow, sources identified the young girl as Parima, originally from Bulchiragh district of Faryab province. She attempted suicide by ingesting acid last week and passed away in a local hospital on Sunday, November 17.
Sources linked the motive for the incident to an arranged marriage against her will, but further details about the marriage remain unclear.
Local Taliban officials have not yet commented on the case.
Since the Taliban’s return to power, suicide cases, particularly among young women and girls, have significantly increased in Afghanistan.
Over the past two weeks alone, at least three young women have ended their lives due to domestic violence and mental illness, which have significantly increased in recent years.
According to a recent report by Etilaat Roz, over the past three years of Taliban rule, more than 200 women and girls have committed suicide across Afghanistan. The report states that during the year 1402 (May 2023 – May 2024), at least 103 women and girls, the majority of whom were under the age of 20, took their own lives in the country.
The actual numbers may be even higher, as many incidents go unreported due to Taliban media restrictions and the stigma surrounding mental health in Afghan society.
The report found that the main reasons behind the significant rise in women’s suicide rates are poverty and hunger, Taliban restrictions, forced marriage, domestic violence, mental health issues, threats from the Taliban, and sexual assault.
Life under Taliban rule has become extremely challenging for women and girls, who have been largely excluded from public life. They are denied access to education, employment, parks, freedom of movement, and many other basic rights.
UN experts and human rights groups have condemned the Taliban’s oppressive policies, warning that the escalating violence against women and girls constitutes a form of gender apartheid.
