The harrowing tale of a 15-year-old Afghan girl who attempted suicide by drinking battery acid has thrown light on the alarming rise in suicides and suicide attempts among Afghan girls and women. This shocking phenomenon, as activists and officials claim, is provoked by the strict ban on female secondary education imposed by the Taliban after their return to power two years ago.
The young girl, identified here as 'Azo,' once cherished big dreams of becoming a doctor, but when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021, her aspirations shattered. As her access to education was abruptly cut off, her mental well-being spiraled downwards. A scenario that, sadly, is not unique to Azo but replicated across Afghanistan, enhancing a deeply disturbing trend, as verified by health and human rights organizations.
An anonymous Afghan doctor has revealed a 50% increase in mental health cases among his female patients considering suicide over the past two years. Shockingly, at least 10% have taken their lives through horrifying means, including drinking chemicals, overdosing on pain medications, and ingesting rat poison. He solemnly attributes this dire situation directly to the education ban imposed, alongside other severe restrictions on girls.
Azo's appeal for help initially landed on deaf ears: local Afghan doctors felt powerless in the absence of proper medical infrastructure to treat her severe damages. But her family's desperate grit led them to smuggle her into Pakistan to save her life. After three major surgeries in Karachi, the young girl continues to struggle, drastically underweight and unable to gain mass, even with nutritional supplements. The operations have not yet managed to repair her severely damaged digestive systems.
The looming threat of Pakistan's recent decision to expel Afghans living illegally in the country compounds the family's fears. If forced to return, they believe Azo will die. Her agonizing story underlines the grim reality faced by Afghan women under Taliban rule and gives a human face to the desperate struggle for women's rights and education in a country mired in despair and conflict.
