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Kurdistan: Failed Suicides Create Plastic
Surgery Demand
28.4.2007
By Amanj Khalil in Sulaimaniyah (ICR No. 219,
27-Apr-07) |
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April 28, 2007
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan region (Iraq) , --
Many of those who survive attempts at
self-immolation are now opting to have cosmetic
surgery to get rid of their scars.
Suham Ghafoor obsessively tries to hide her face in
public. Once proud of her beauty, she now is ashamed
to show the scars left on her face by her attempt to
burn herself to death.
Last year, after many bitter arguments with her
husband, the young woman decided to end her life by
setting herself on fire. It was the only way she
could think of to escape a life of abuse at the
hands of her husband.
Now she is one of a growing number of women having
plastic surgery to remove the burns left by her
failed suicide bid.
Before she set herself alight, Ghafoor said she
wondered what would happen to her two children
without her, but even that didn’t stop her.
"I knew it was the end of my life," she said, "I
just wanted to escape from life and the insults of
my husband."
Armed with five litres of kerosene and a lighter,
she disappeared into the bathroom where no one could
see her. Soon afterwards, she rushed out, covered in
flames and screaming for help.
Neighbours came and smothered her in wet blankets
before taking her to the hospital, where she spent
several weeks in recovery before returning home to
her old life.
But each morning when looking into the mirror, she
knew she would never be the same - so she turned to
plastic surgery to restore as much of her old self
as possible.
"I regret what I have done to myself," she said,
painfully aware of how difficult it will be to make
the traces of her deed disappear.
Ghafoor, a woman with wide eyes and brown
complexion, was proud of her beauty before
attempting suicide. "I had many suitors when I
wanted to marry," she said.
And Ghafoor is not alone. In Iraqi-Kurdistan,
self-immolation - or setting fire to oneself - is
the most common method of suicide for women.
Experts say that women are often driven to this
desperate measure to escape domestic violence. A
lack of psychological or marital counseling, as well
as a strict social code that stops people discussing
personal matters outside the family, means they
often feel they have nowhere to turn for help.
In 2006, around 1500 women in the region have tried
to end their lives in this way, according to
statistics from the Sulaimaniyah Emergency Hospital.
Almost a third of them died from their injuries.
Many of those who survive are now opting to have
plastic surgery to get rid of their scars.
The first emergency treatment for burn victims at
public hospitals is normally provided free of
charge, especially those from families with low
income.
When the victims are brought to hospital, the
doctors will perform urgent surgery, such as skin
transplantations. The victims must pay for
non-essential surgery which is requested for
cosmetic reasons.
It doesn’t come cheap – to remove an average-sized
burn costs 500 US dollars - more than twice the
monthly average income - but in spite of the costs,
the demand for corrective surgery continues to rise.
Ari Rahim is a surgeon in one of the 18 clinics in
Sulaimaniyah which offer plastic surgery to
survivors of attempted self-immolation, as well as
to those seeking routine cosmetic procedures.
He says that last year 600 cosmetic surgery
procedures were performed in the city, which has a
population of approximately 600,000. He has more
customers than ever, he says – many of them women
need skin transplants after attempting suicide in
this way.
Increased prosperity in Sulaimaniyah means more and
more women in this situation can afford plastic
surgery to treat their burns, he said. He added that
the demand for surgery has also increased because
improved technology has made surgery more effective.
He says the women he treats for burns have surgery
in an attempt to lead ordinary lives after their
trauma.
Depression, anxiety and nightmares are commonly
suffered by victims, and there is no counseling
available to help them come to terms with the
experience. Once their burns have been treated, the
women usually go straight back into the situation
that first drove them into despair.
As well as the psychological scars, the women have
to cope with the stigma of their disfigurement. They
are often mocked in the street, and referred to
insultingly as “the woman who burnt herself" or "the
burnt woman".
Such a suicide attempt may do even more damage to an
already troubled marriage because the husband is
embarrassed by his wife’s action or rejects her
because of her appearance.
“The [the women] resort to plastic surgery because
they are afraid that people will make negative
comments about their looks and their husbands might
marry another woman," said sociologist Sameera
Hama-Salih.
Hama-Salih, who is researching the cause and effect
of self-immolation, said that in some cases, the
woman’s suicide attempt is enough for an abusive
husband to change his ways.
She said that after a suicide attempt, some women
experience problems not with their husband but the
family of their husband. High rents in the area mean
that extended families tend to live together, which
can mean a lack of privacy and family members
interfering in each other’s lives.
But, she said, many couples have problems and even
separate because the husband remains abusive towards
his wife, or rejects her for another woman, “I saw a
25-year-old woman who had survived self-immolation.
Instead of getting help from her husband, he married
another woman and neglected her."
Hama-Salih said the woman had nowhere to go after
her family refused to support her, so she was forced
to stay with her abusive husband.
Ghafoor says her husband’s rejection is one of the
reasons she has decided to try and get rid of her
scars.
“My husband has not even kissed me since what
happened to me," she said sadly.
She has undergone two operations so far - at a cost
of 250 dollars each - and her scars are less obvious
than before, but burns still cover her face, neck,
chest and body, and is willing to pay all the money
she has for more operations.
"I would do anything for my husband to want me
again," she said.
Muneera Abdullah says that the reactions of other
people - particularly her husband – is what has
prompted her to plan cosmetic surgery.
She set herself on fire last year to escape the
misery of an unhappy marriage.
Now she has scars on her hands, chest and neck
which, she says, often repulse people and stop her
from feeding her baby in front of others, even close
relatives.
"My husband is disgusted by me," she said. “He is
not intimate with me at night."
While Soz Akram wants surgery to remove her scars in
time for her wedding day.
She wasn’t trying to escape an unhappy marriage when
she set herself on alight three years ago, but was
reacting to her father’s attempts to force her to
marry a friend of his against her will.
"I wanted to make my father listen to me and leave
me alone," she said.
This has left her with burns on her right hand and
upper body, and she hides her right hand in public.
Now she has fallen in love with a man she wants to
marry and her father has bowed to her will.
"I don’t want to have any mark of the incident
[left] on my wedding day," she said happily. "I want
to wear the most beautiful outfit and start a new
life."
Amanj Khalil is an IWPR trainee in Sulaimaniyah.
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