Death through suicide is rising amongst Iranian women and girls, likely a direct result of poverty and violence, with even government officials and experts admitting to the increase.
Yet, despite all that, the Deputy for Women and Family Affairs, Massoumeh Ebtekar, has said that domestic and other violence against women is “not high” in Iran and the country “is in a better position than other[s]”.
However, Deputy Interior Minister and Director of the Social Affairs Organization Taghi Rostamvandi warned that the current situation was troubling.
He said: “Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in suicides. We have had a 4 percent to 5 percent annual increase in suicide rates. This year, we have the same statistics as last year. But what is remarkable is that we have a significant change in the range of ages among those who have attempted suicide. Suicide has increased in the last year among those under 18 and over 60.″
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The staggering increase was backed up by a source in the Nation Forensic Medicine Organization, who said that the number of deaths from suicide in the period March to October 2020 rose 4.2% compared with the same period in 2019. The source warned that some 15 people die from suicide each day and they are more likely now to choose methods that are faster acting.
Sociologist Khalid Tavakoli, who specialises in social harm, said: “Recently, the suicide rate of married and middle-aged people has been added to the statistics, [and we see] a worrying trend… We witnessed two suicides in Kurdistan: one was a bride; the other was a 14-year-old girl… The number of failed suicides is not usually reflected in official statistics, and the number is higher than what is formally announced.”
Iranian economist Ibrahim Razaghi said that “extreme poverty” was the biggest threat to Iran, with 30 million unemployed and double that living in poverty, while the rich get richer.
Meanwhile, over 38 million Iranians live in slums.
Statistics about the suicides of women and girls over the past year have been shocking and include many horrific methods that we cannot get into here because it would be far too gruesome, especially those involving children as young as 11.
The Iranian Resistance wrote: “The mullahs’ regime of thievery and embezzlement is to be blamed for rampant poverty in Iran and the rising rate and number of suicides in the country. Sixty million Iranians live under the line of poverty due to the regime’s systematic lack of supervision over the economy.”
