RASC News Agency: Reports from the western provinces of Afghanistan narrate that some girls and women have resorted to suicide due to the closure of schools and universities. A credible source, on the condition of anonymity, in Herat Province told the RASC news agency on Friday, Feb 16, that since the initial days of school and university closures in this province and other provinces in the western region of the country, some girls and women have committed suicide due to the deprivation of education and complete hopelessness.
The provinces mentioned in this announcement include Herat, Farah, Ghor, Badghis, and Nimroz, where some girls and women have ended their lives due to suicide, and most of these incidents remain hidden from the public eye by members of the Taliban group. However, other sources in Ghor Province confirm that the plight of Afghanistani girls and women has confronted this segment of society with a major cancer called regression from all activities.
This source says that forced marriages, family oppression over young girls and women, and deprivation from schools and universities are among the factors driving women to suicide. The source adds, if one looks deeply into the current situation of women in the country, they will realize that this spectrum of society is daily consuming their bread with blood. Furthermore, another source from Farah Province states that most young girls who remain out of school are currently being forced into marriage by their family members.
According to the source, some of these married girls, forced into marriage, have resorted to suicide, and in the source’s belief, most suicides in Farah Province and other western provinces of Afghanistan are caused by forced marriages imposed by family members. On the other hand, sources in Badghis and Nimroz provinces confirm that recent restrictions imposed on women’s freedom have turned them into prisoners confined to their homes, and it is added that all hopes of educational and university-going girls have been taken away from them, and their worries are increasing day by day.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Rasekhi, a university professor speaking to the RASC news agency, said, “Show me a country in the world like Afghanistan where its schools and universities are closed to girls and women.” He added, “If there is corruption or any other problem in schools and universities, it requires dialogue and calmness to resolve. Closing educational centers will not yield any reasonable results for all segments of society until a rational solution is created.” Despite our extensive efforts, we could not obtain the opinions of Taliban authorities in western Afghanistan.
It is worth mentioning that after the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan, women in the country have suffered the greatest and worst blow, and this blow has become extremely difficult for the entire female community, compelling them to resort to suicide.
