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A 15
year old woman attempted to commit suicide in
Marivan, Western Iran. 20 days later, her cousin,
another young girl, did the same. The two were
hospitalized in the same hospital in Sanandaj,
Kurdistan Province, western Iran and both passed
away a few days later. The burn unit of the Tohid
Hospital in Sanandaj, mostly treats women, who do
not admit committing suicide and instead repeat the
old cliché story of a gas explosion in the kitchen.
This is while the burned bodies plainly reveal the
truth.
In the past week, I came across six cases where the
young women have set themselves ablaze. Mrs. V. was
a 15 year old married woman who burned herself. She
started her tragic life story by saying: “Just pray
to God that I may die sooner, because I want to get
rid of my husband. I am just 15 and have been
married for four months. My husband constantly beats
me up and insults me. Once he broke my head in a way
that I couldn’t move. I was alone at home yet he cut
the phone line. He didn’t let me be in contact with
my friends or relatives and wanted me imprisoned. I
returned to my father for help several times, but he
told me that I have to continue, so I had no way out
of that miserable life. Therefore I burned myself
and now I don’t regret that. I was really
good-looking but see what has happened to me now.
Last week I tried to kill myself by taking a lot of
pills. But it didn’t work. Finally yesterday after a
terrible quarrel with my husband, I went to the
bathroom and burned myself. It was terribly painful.
Our landlord’s wife came to my rescue and
extinguished the fire. All I desire now is death. I
want the world to know that I killed myself because
of my husband’s brutality.”
This story was still fresh when a new uproar could
be heard in the burn unit of the hospital. Another
woman and another fabricated story by her
brother….This is just the tip of an iceberg. Yet the
question now raised is what practical steps have
been taken to fight oppression against women in
Iran? Why should a woman commit suicide in despair
and with no safe haven to seek shelter?
Can we cover up the whole problem by manipulating
the statistics and preventing their release? How
long can Iranian officials keep silent? Can those
who rejected the convention on the elimination of
all forms of oppression against women (CEDAW) find
an answer to this question?
According to current research the rate of suicides
in Kurdistan is higher among women compared to men.
Moreover married women tend to commit suicide more
than the singles. In a report on suicides we find
that the Kurd-inhabited provinces of Iran have the
highest rates of suicides.
Many oppressed Iranian women due to their
unawareness of laws and lack of legal support as
well as the old tradition of ‘suffering and keeping
silent’ find no way out of their misery but by
ending their life.
Almost two years ago, Iran’s Parliament rejected the
convention on the elimination of all forms of
oppression against women (CEDAW) terming it as ‘in
contrast with Islamic rules.’ This obstinacy of Iran
at that time led to harsh criticisms of the Iranian
government by human rights and women activists the
world over, but gradually the issue was sent into
oblivion like many others.
Ignorance of women rights has been so rampant in
Iran and in some cases has been integrated into the
culture. This oppression is manifested in a variety
of ways ranging from obligatory dress codes to right
of divorce and child custody.
http://www.iranmania.com
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