In Tajikistan, the number of female suicides is increasing at an alarming rate. It is a reoccurring and familiar problem, yet not much is being done to get these women the help they need. Seeing a psychiatrist has been deemed taboo, instead it is friends and family members that take on this role.
Many factors of the rising suicide rates in Tajikistan is attributed to violence within marriages and by in-laws, family and community violence, child abuse, and forced marriages. All of these are symptoms of an oppressive society where women are limited in social, political, and economic rights. Out of all suicides 31% of the people were married and 97% of those marriages were arranged. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), between 2008 and 2010 the national suicide rate rose 63%. During this time the rate for men went from 3.6 to 3.9 (per 100,000), increasing 6% while women increased by 173% from 1.9 to 5.2 (per 100,000).
Unlike more developed countries, Tajikistan is extremely male dominated and women are subjected to constant harassment and abuse. While women in more developed countries have the opportunity to speak out and even prosecute against these disgusting actions, women in Tajikistan don’t have the ability to fight back. It is acceptable in their society for a women to be beaten for talking to a man that is not her husband or relative. Because of this norm within the society women are forced to ignore the trauma and continue their daily lives without proper mental healthcare. One woman shared her story about her abusive husband and mother in law. She was married by 16 and was beaten regularly before, during, and after having her baby. Her husband would threaten to kick her out of the house because she gave him a daughter instead of a son. By the time she turned 17, this young girl said she dreamed of setting her self on fire or drowning in a river just to be free from the constant abuse. She attempted to burn herself to death, waking up in a hospital, sobbing at the thought of having to soon return home.
Throughout the ages, women have suffered in silence and it is important for women to not only have easy access to mental heath care facilities but also have protection against abuse and mistreatment for speaking up against men.