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KABUL (SW): Domestic violence and other issues have forced many women to take their own lives by consuming high dose of sleeping pills or other deadly substance but recently the easy availability of rat poison has become very common among women who commit suicide.
Dr. Shahla Wardak Amiri, a specialist at the Rabia Balkhi Hospital, told Salam Watandar that the use of rat poison has been on the rise among women who wish to take their own lives. She said that they receive victims of such cases three and four times a week.
She said that the rodenticides, commonly known as rat poison is the worst pesticide easily available in the market, which would end consumer’s life if not be rushed to the hospital soon.
Dr. Gul Mohammad Hashemi, a specialist at the Jumhuriat Hospital, told Salam Watandar that they do not have an exact number of such cases but from each 4 to 5 cases of poisoning, which are referred to the hospital, two cases are related to the rat poisoning.
According to him, rat poison consists of a deadly substance called arsenic, which enters the blood system and affects the heart as well as the brain.
The western Herat province has witnessed more of such cases than any other provinces across the country. Mohammad Rafiq Shirzai, an official at the Herat Hospital said that they have registered 398 rat poisoning cases out of which 80 poisoned victims were women.
Shabnam Sima, the deputy for women affairs at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said that the reason why women opt to end their lives using rat poison is that it is very cheap and accessible. She said that this poison is found almost in every house and when women suffer from domestic violence they use it to take their lives.
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