KABUL (SW) – Salam Watandar’s investigations into a number of murder and suicide cases of women in Afghanistan reveal a concerning trend of escalating violence against them in recent years.
Over the past six months, Salam Watandar has documented 74 cases of women’s murder and suicide, averaging more than 12 incidents per month.
In March 2024, there were 16 cases of murder and suicide, in February 15, in January 14, in December 8, in November 14 and in October 7 such cases were documented.
Out of the total cases of murder and suicides among women documented by Salam Watandar over the past six months, 58 were murders and 16 were suicides.
According to this survey, Faryab province has recorded the highest number of cases of women’s murder and suicide with 12 reported incidents. Following closely behind are Nangarhar with 8 cases, and both Takhar and Balkh with 6 cases each. Meanwhile, in Kandahar, Parwan, and Kapisa, there have been 4 cases of murder and suicide each province.
Similarly, in Badghis, Kabul, and Khost, there have been 3 cases of murder and suicide while in Sar-e-Pul, Daikundi, Herat, Ghor, Panjshir, and Samangan 2 cases of murder and suicide have occurred in each province.
Additionally, single cases of murder and suicide have been reported in Kunduz, Farah, Ghazni, Nuristan, Helmand, and Nimruz provinces during the past six months.
Furthermore, two additional cases of murders among Afghan women residing in Pakistan and Iran have been reported in the months of October 2023, and February 2024.
Out of the total 74 cases of women’s murder and suicides, 45 cases remain shrouded in mystery, while 29 cases have discernible reasons, according to Salam Watandar’s analysis.
Documentation of these cases shows that 14 were caused by domestic violence, 3 were caused by illicit relationship, 3 were caused by forced marriage, 2 cases linked to return from prison, one case linked to pregnancy during engagement, one case was linked to robbery, two cases linked to verbal feud, one caused by poverty and one caused by giving away girl to settle feud and one because of setting high price of money paid by groom. The reasons for 45 more cases remain unknown.
Salam Watandar’s investigation reveal that the murder incidents have been perpetrated by various individuals, with spouses and unidentified individuals being predominantly involved.
Among the reported cases, 12 murders were committed by husbands or fiances, 11 by unknown individuals, 4 by fathers, 4 by forces affiliated with the de-facto government, 3 by relatives, 2 by father-in-laws, 1 by a child, 1 by a grandchild, 1 by a brother, 1 by brother-in-law, and 1 by a thief. However, the motives behind 18 other cases remain unclear.
The 74 murders and suicides have occurred in various ways. According to information gathered by Salam Watandar, the manner of 58 cases have been determined, while the circumstances of the remaining 16 cases remain undisclosed.
Based on this investigation, 28 cases involved the use of guns, 11 cases involved knives and axes, 9 cases involved hanging, 5 cases involved suffocation, 2 cases involved beatings, 1 case involved poisoning, 1 case involved burning, and 1 case involved throwing-down from a mountain.
Majority of the murdered women were married and belonged to different age groups, with 13 of them being under the age of 20.
The cases of women’s murder and suicide in the past six months have been collected from various media sources, with 34 cases from Hasht-e Subh media, 13 cases from the Afghan Women’s News Agency, 9 cases from Etilaatroz newspaper, another 9 cases from the Afghan Women’s Press Agency, and 9 cases reported by Salam Watandar correspondents.
However, some women’s rights activists attribute the increase in women’s murders and suicides to economic challenges, lack of job opportunities and education, domestic violence, and restrictions imposed by the de-facto government.
Forozan Dawoodzai, a women’s rights activist, stated that in recent times, suicide among women has significantly increased, especially among young women and girls, primarily due to economic hardships, current restrictions on women, and domestic violence. “These factors have led many women to experience psychological distress, prompting them to resort to suicide. Since there are no women’s courts, most families try to keep these issues informal,” she added.
Masuma Husaini, anorher women’s rights activist, said the situation for women in Afghanistan has become so dire that they are willing to end their lives. she added: “One of the constraints is that with each passing day and month, the Taliban issue new decrees restricting women’s rights. Another challenge is unemployment and lack of access to education for women.”
However, some sociologists and psychologists attribute the increase in women’s suicides to feelings of despair and mental health issues, saying that the imposition of restrictions on individuals’ lives and the lack of personal and social freedoms contribute to the rise in homicides and suicides in society.
Rashid Sediqi, a sociologist, said: “Today, education opportunities for women are limited, their participation in work and decision-making is restricted, and other factors that deprive women of personal and social freedoms can be significant contributors. From a sociological perspective, factors that may harm or hinder an individual’s personality and emotions can lead to suicide.”
Nezami Aziz, a psychologist, said: “Suicide usually occurs due to psychological issues, and based on the research 90% of individuals who commit suicide or contemplate suicide suffer from some form of mental disorder. More than half of them experience depression, feelings of hopelessness, and despair before committing suicide.”
Women lawyers argue that following the recent political upheavals in Afghanistan and the imposition of restrictions by the de-facto government on judicial and legal institutions, women’s access to legal services has also decreased.
Somaya Karimi, a defense lawyer during the republican system who is currently based in Pakistan, says: “The only reason for this could be that in the past three years, the judicial and legal system of Afghanistan has failed to regain its former glory. Just as the regime collapsed, the judicial and legal system became paralyzed. Since there is no institution to advocate for women’s rights, women are forced to resort to suicide.”
We attempted to obtain the perspective of the Islamic Emirate on this issue and the statistics of women’s murders and suicides, but to no avail.
Previously, Salam Watandar managed to document 73 cases of women’s murders and suicides from the beginning of the change of the regime in the country, which indicate an increase in severe violence against women.
Since the change of government in Afghanistan until now, Salam Watandar has documented a total of 247 cases of women’s murders and suicides. Among them, there have been 16 incidents recorded during the year 2021, 84 incidents during the year 2022, and 131 incidents during the year 2023. Finally, 16 incidents have also occurred during the first quarter of 2024.
The statistics compiled by Salam Watandar indicate that the number of women’s murders and suicides has increased with each passing year.
