THE YOUNGEST VICTIM OF SUICIDE

Paula Bronstein

Getty Images

Shahnaz,14, sits on the floor of her family home November 17,2006 in Herat. She tired to commit suicide a year ago pratically crippling herself from the severe burns after her father lost her in a gambling match. She spent a year in the Herat hospital. The medical staff at the Herat hospital says that they have registered around 700 self-immolations cases so far this year. Hospital officials say they lack proper salaries for the nurses and doctors and suffer from a lack of medical supplies. A new burn center for the crowded hospital that was suppose to be finished in 2005 is still under construction. The problems facing women in Afghanistan are complex and are closely linked to their subordinate position in the Afghan society where conservative Islamic laws and traditions dictate what a woman is allowed to do in a male dominated world. Forced marriages, domestic violence, poverty and lack of access to education are the main reasons for suicide. (photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Paula Bronstein, "THE YOUNGEST VICTIM OF SUICIDE," in POYi Archive, Item #46023, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/46023 (accessed January 10, 2025).