January 30, 2006 The rate of suicide of Kurdish women oppressed under poverty, fundamentalism, tradition and national pressures have risen to unprecedented levels. The newspapers are full of reports of Kurdish women killing themselves or being killed in honor killings. January 3rd – N.B., a 16-year-old girl, hung herself due to family violence. January 8th […]
January 30, 2006
The rate of suicide of Kurdish women oppressed under poverty, fundamentalism, tradition and national pressures have risen to unprecedented levels. The newspapers are full of reports of Kurdish women killing themselves or being killed in honor killings.
January 3rd – N.B., a 16-year-old girl, hung herself due to family violence.
January 8th – Gülistan Gülaçmaz, an 18-year-old girl in Elazığ hung herself.
January 8th – (In Iran) A girl in the Kuliç village of Piranşehir in Eastern Kurdistan suffocated herself due to family pressures.
January 15th – N.Ş. a 14-year-old girl in Batman committed suicide with a rope she hung from the ceiling.
January 16th – A women who had an argument with her husband, jumped from 6th floor apartment and killed herself in Elazığ.
January 17th – Zübeyde Yıldız, a 25-year-old woman, living in Bostaniçi, hung herself in the coal storage room of their house and committed suicide. Reason is unknown.
January 18th – L.F., a woman from Van’s Gevaş province jumped from the 3rd floor apartment and killed herself for unknown reasons.
January 25th – 14-year-old girl B.S. killed herself with a gun to her head.
January 27th – A women, having a psychological crises, jumped from the roof and killed herself.
January 27th – 21-year-old Hazier Açen, while having a nervous breakdown, committed suicide with her fathers gun.
January 29th, – In the Serdeşt town of Eastern Kurdistan, Cemile Ehmedi, a young girl, hung herself to prevent being forcefully married by her family.
The above list is only some reports of suicides that have made it to the papers. When attempted suicides are considered in addition to those above, a very dark picture emerges.
54% of Women in Batman think about suicide
The SELIS Women Consulting Center of Batman Municipality has conducted a research to investigate the matter after the increase in the suicide rates. The result of the research has shown that 54% of all women in Batman are contemplating suicide and 15% have already attempted suicide.
The researchers talked to more tan 300 women over 15 years of age to determine the socio-economic and cultural conditions of women.
The results reveal that:
– 6% of all women in Batman have been married while they were at or below 14 years of age.
– 62% of women were married by their family without having met their future husbands. 15% have been married by an arrangement between the families of the bride and the groom
– 50.91% of women are not aware of any contraception methods.
– Every one woman out of five has at least 7 children.
Batman, famous for women’s suicides and unsolved murders, is one of the towns that received the most migration. The experts say migration from villages as well as from other towns cause breakdowns due to ethnic and religious reasons and this results in the youth being pushed to loneliness and is the ultimate cause for suicides. Especially women, who cannot participate in the social life, contemplate suicide.
Not Limited to Batman
The researches show that women’s suicides intensify especially in the Eastern cities like Diyarbakır, Van, Elazığ and Şırnak. The numbers coming from Eastern Kurdistan’s (Iran) Umriye town is also alarming.
In one month alone, more than 150 women attempted suicides in Urmiye. Many of them lost their lives. More than 50% of all women who attempted suicides were married.
A report published by the Eastern Kurdistan Human Rights Association (RMMK) also mentions the women suicide rates. The report calls attention to the increase in suicide attempts in the 4 states of Eastern Kurdistan, namely, Urmiye, Kırmaşan, İlam and Kurdistan. The report also states that in Urmiye, more than 150 women attempted suicide and many of them have lost their lives.
The report also gives information on the family, social and economic conditions of women who killed themselves. Many of these women had either none or very low education and more than 50% were married.
The report stated that the families were all poor and none of these women worked outside of their home. In addition, these women were between 14 and 30 years of age.
The Picture does not change for Women in Europe
The Association for Women Speaking Turkish In England also conducted a research on families where it was revealed that the biggest problem either Kurdish or Turkish families experienced there was domestic violence. The report said, many women who experience violence see suicide as the only way out.
The report also stated that due to social pressures, the women are fearful of calling the police.
The fact that women contemplate or attempt suicide after being subjected to violence shows the level of violence these women experience in societies living in London.
Sendika.org
Source: Fırat Haber Ajansı / AA
M.B.