KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A 19-year-old girl has died by suicide in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, marking yet another case in a troubling rise in suicides among women and girls under Taliban rule.
Local sources told KabulNow that the teenager, identified as Zainab, ended her life by ingesting poison in Kama district on Monday, May 12. The sources pointed to domestic violence as the cause of the incident.
Taliban authorities in Nangarhar confirmed the incident but did not provide further details.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, suicide rates among women and girls have sharply increased. Activists link the rise to factors such as forced and early marriages, domestic violence, and deteriorating mental health.
Restrictions on women’s rights — including bans on education, employment, and freedom of movement — have worsened the situation. The Taliban have also dismantled protections against domestic abuse, leaving many women trapped in cycles of violence with no access to justice.
In 2023, Etilaat Roz documented at least 103 suicides among women across 28 provinces, most of them under the age of 20. The real number is believed to be much higher due to underreporting and media censorship.
Reports also indicate a surge in gender-based violence across Afghanistan. A study by Afghan Witness documented more than 700 cases of gender-based violence between January 2022 and June 2024, affecting at least 840 women and girls. The report detailed 322 cases of femicide, where women were killed due to their gender, along with 287 instances of arrest, detention, and enforced disappearances. At least 75 cases of sexual violence were also recorded.
