KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A 19-year-old girl has died by suicide in Ghor province, central Afghanistan, as incidents of self-harm and suicide among young women continue to rise.
Local sources told KabulNow that the girl, identified as Samira, hanged herself at home on Thursday following a verbal dispute with her father.
According to the sources, Samira had been engaged to a man a year ago but was unhappy with the arrangement. The sources linked her death to opposition to the forced marriage.
Local Taliban officials have yet to comment on the case. However, sources said the group has detained Samira’s mother and brother for questioning.
This incident comes just days after a similar case in southern Kandahar province, where a young girl reportedly took her own life by ingesting poison after being forcibly married to a man over 50 years old.
Suicide cases among women and girls have surged since the Taliban’s return to power, with restrictions on women’s rights, forced and early marriage, mental health issues, and widespread domestic violence cited as key factors.
Meanwhile, reports indicate a surge in gender-based violence across the country. A study by Afghan Witness recorded more than 700 cases of such violence between January 2022 and June 2024, involving at least 840 women and girls. The report documented 322 cases of femicide—where women were killed because of their gender—as well as 287 instances of arrest, detention, and enforced disappearances. At least 75 cases of sexual violence were also recorded.
