RASC News Agency: Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, the combination of poverty, unemployment, and an oppressive political, cultural, and social environment has led to a sharp rise in suicides, particularly among the country’s youth. According to reports from various organizations, six individuals including three women and one young girl took their own lives in the provinces of Faryab, Helmand, Ghazni, and Paktika within the last month. On the 14th of Aqrab this year, two suicides occurred in Helmand and Paktika provinces. Both victims a woman and a man hanged themselves. A woman in the village of Tariq in the Marjah district of Helmand ended her life due to domestic violence, while 38-year-old Qudratullah took his own life in Paktika, overwhelmed by poverty.
Domestic violence has reached alarming levels since the Taliban’s return, with citizens attributing the increase to forced marriages and the Taliban’s interference in personal matters. Last month, two young women, Arifa and Gul Afroz residents of Pashtun Kot and Gorzaiwan districts both died by poisoning. Relatives of the two women revealed that Arifa, aged 18, and Gul Afroz, 22, were married and resorted to suicide due to ongoing family tensions. On the 17th of October, a suicide occurred in the Jaghori district of Ghazni province, where a 15-year-old boy named Jawad hanged himself. His relatives reported that Jawad was a student who took his own life due to financial hardship. In another case, a 16-year-old girl from the Balcharagh district in Faryab province ingested acid to end her life. Relatives explained that she was driven to this tragic act because her father had arranged her marriage to an elderly man.
It is important to note that suicides and mysterious deaths have become a daily occurrence in the country. However, the Taliban have imposed strict control over the flow of information, presenting a facade of stability and safety to the international community. In October alone, more than 30 people were killed in various incidents across different regions. According to multiple sources, most of the victims were former security personnel or individuals opposed to the Taliban’s rule.
