As more Iranians, particularly women, feel increasingly helpless in the face of so many crises and societal issues, suicide rates in Iran are going up because they feel detached from friends and family, as well as from fulfilling lives outside of their personal relationships.
In fact, since 2017, 60 people, mostly women, have died from suicide in the city of Dishmuk alone, which suicide rates in the provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and Ilam were highest.
Sociologist and university professor Amanullah Gharaee-Moghadam said that one of the main reasons for suicide of a lack of trust in the authorities overall and discrimination inherent within the mullahs’ laws.
He said: “They say, ‘give birth to more babies!’” They have told girls that their hair was seen. Did they become religious? The structure in Iran is sick. You cannot force society to observe rules from 100 years ago. Today, young people see, hear, and read. They observe the world through their computers.”
Indeed, one of the problems is forced marriage, which is more common in girls under 15. Most of the time, it causes irreparable damage as girls drop out of school to get married and then if their husband dies or divorces them, they are left without the means to get a good job to support themselves.
Here are some of the most recent examples of suicide due to forced marriage:
- Anahita Shahidi, 18, killed herself on January 23 to avoid a forced marriage to her cousin
- Sahar Fakheri, 20, committed suicide on March 18 so that she wouldn’t be married off
- An unnamed 15-year-old girl, who was a victim of child marriage, killed herself just after getting married
It’s worth noting that the suicide rate jumped 4.2% in the period March 21-November 20, 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. This is likely due to the pandemic and the authorities’ lacklustre response to it, but the main cause for suicide, especially among women is still the mullahs; dictatorship.
The state-run daily Jahanesanat previously warned that this spate of suicides could become more pronounced and inspire protests, not unlike the ones that nearly overthrew the rulling theocracy in 2019 and 2017.
The Iranian Resistance wrote: “Beyond all the frustration surrounding the mullahs’ misogynistic rule and overall distrust in the government, protests such as those in 2017 and 2019 are on the rise. The fact that more people are protesting gives hope to the Iranian people for the eventual overthrow of the regime.”
