Reporter: Taranom Saba
Over the past four years, the social and individual lives of Afghan women under Taliban rule have been subjected to unprecedented restrictions and pressures. The prohibition of education, employment, travel, and active participation in public life has not only jeopardized the future of millions of women and girls but has also confronted them with a rising tide of depression, despair, and an alarming increase in suicidal tendencies.
The rate of suicide among young women has reached unprecedented levels. Experts attribute the root cause of this crisis to the Taliban’s restrictions and bans targeting women, which systematically and deliberately exclude them from active participation in society, forcing many into isolation and confinement at home.
According to media reports and human rights investigations published by organizations defending women’s rights under Taliban rule, the rate of suicide among women has been on the rise, with nearly one case recorded each month across different parts of Afghanistan. Nevertheless, in most instances, these incidents remain unreported due to the repressive conditions imposed by the Taliban, prevailing social taboos, and the reluctance of families to disclose such tragedies.
Herat City witnessed two tragic cases of suicide by young women in the past week.
In one incident, which occurred in the province’s sixth district, a young woman named Khadija, the daughter of Aminullah, ended her life by ingesting rat poison, according to reliable sources who spoke to Ravi Zan media. Khadija was a 23-year-old medical student.
A relative of the young woman, who requested anonymity, said: “After the Taliban shut down the universities, Khadija became increasingly withdrawn and depressed. She had worked tirelessly to become a doctor, but all her efforts were suddenly rendered futile. On the day of the incident, she had gone to the market. After returning home and having a heated argument with her mother, she ingested the poison.”
They added that, after witnessing Khadija’s life-threatening condition, her family transferred her to the Herat Regional Hospital. After spending two nights in a coma, she passed away on Saturday of the same week.
Another case of suicide occurred on Monday in the Howz-e-Karbas area of Herat province. According to sources, the young woman was named Simin Gul and was 19 years old.
A source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told Ravi Zan media: “Simin Gul’s family wanted to force her into marriage with her father’s cousin. He already had another wife and was the same age as Simin Gul’s father. Because he was wealthy and a Taliban member, her father insisted on marrying her off to him against her will.”
It was reported that: “After a month of tension and disputes at home, Simin Gul went to the market and purchased Toxic chemical pills (gas pills), which she then took that night at bedtime. When morning came, she did not wake up. Her mother found foam at her mouth and realized that she had died.”
According to experts, the surge in female suicides represents far more than an individual tragedy; it signals the erosion of hope and the increasingly precarious prospects for women across Afghan society. Systematic exclusion from social, educational, cultural, and economic spheres deprives the nation of its potential, exacerbating entrenched cycles of poverty, violence, and radicalization.
Social and Psychological Perspectives on the Crisis
Experts highlight three interrelated factors contributing to this crisis:
- Structural Deprivation: The Taliban’s systematic denial of access to education and employment has severed women from their personal and social aspirations, leaving them in profound isolation.
- Family Pressure and Forced Marriage: Under Taliban rule, forced marriages and the imposition of family demands have increased, placing young women in situations where they have little or no autonomy over their life choices.
- Silence and Vulnerability: The absence of active women’s rights and human rights organizations, limited access to mental health services, lack of social support, and pervasive cultural taboos leave women isolated in the face of psychological crises, often with no perceived alternative but to end their lives.
Batool Haidari, a psychologist and social activist, observes that the rising rate of female suicides is largely driven by psychological pressure and the loss of hope for the future. She explains: “When girls are denied opportunities for education and personal development, they experience feelings of worthlessness. Moreover, in a context where the Taliban have closed every avenue to them and equal opportunities are nonexistent, young women are inevitably pushed toward despair and depression, ultimately contemplating suicide.”
Haidari also identifies family pressures, imposing traditional roles on girls and forcing them into early or arranged marriages, as another major factor contributing to the rise in female suicides. She adds: “Many families view their daughters as an additional financial burden. Due to widespread poverty and unemployment, they often decide to compel their daughters into marriage whenever possible. This serves both to temporarily secure the family’s livelihood and to reduce the expenses associated with raising the girl.”.
Furthermore, Haidari believes that the absence of safe spaces, where girls can share their social and psychological challenges and trust that they can do so without fear or threat, represents a significant gap. This lack of protective infrastructures deprives women and girls of psychological security, compelling them into silence and reinforcing their sense of vulnerability.
Meanwhile, Somayeh Behboudi, a psychologist, commented on the psychological factors behind the rising rate of suicides among women and girls: “Women and girls whose dreams and aspirations have been destroyed overnight, and who confront a new restriction every day, find themselves in a state of psychological crisis, with no glimmer of hope for improvement.”
Behboudi believes that Afghan women and girls are contending with an uncertain sense of self, caught in a reality where they neither know who they are nor what they truly desire.
She further notes: “The Taliban have stripped women of their sense of self-worth. A woman who once took pride in herself, her goals, and her achievements now has little to hold onto. How can she maintain hope that circumstances will improve? In reality, women in Afghan society live each day and night in fear of what might be taken from them next. Fear, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness are pervasive among women. A person who has lost all hope either waits for death or takes it upon herself to end her life.”
Behboudi also highlights that the Taliban’s restrictions have not only plunged women into crises regarding education, employment, and mental health, but have also disrupted family dynamics. A girl unable to continue her studies faces pressure from her family to marry. Women, burdened by psychological stress, struggle to maintain effective relationships with other family members, and their ability to manage daily life is compromised. In such circumstances, an increase in suicides among women is, unfortunately, not surprising.
In addition to expert observations, international human rights organizations have documented the broader societal impact of these restrictions on women’s mental health. The 2025 annual report by Human Rights Watch highlights that persistent repression and violence have triggered a profound mental health crisis among Afghan women and girls, resulting in heightened rates of depression, anxiety, psychological trauma, and suicide.
Similarly, the report published on December 6, 2023, by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) states that the mental health situation of women in Afghanistan has been deteriorating sharply. Gender-based restrictions—including deprivation of education, employment, and personal freedom are identified as key contributors to depression, anxiety, social isolation, and the emergence of suicidal ideation.
The Taliban’s restrictions, domestic violence, forced marriages, and widespread poverty and unemployment have been identified as major factors contributing to female suicides. These limitations, imposed on women’s access to education, employment, personal freedoms, and individual choices, have severely constrained their opportunities and autonomy.
