Main Causes of Student Suicides in Iran: Poverty, Hijab, and Forced Marriage

Warning: Contains content related to suicide. Nothing is more important than human life. If you are thinking about suicide, please contact these special help numbers: In Iran: Social Emergency 123, Consultant Voice 1480, or Tehran Psychiatric Emergency 44508200. In the USA: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 18002738255, or National Crisis and Suicide Prevention Line 988. In Canada: 911 or 18334564566. In the UK: 116123 and in Afghanistan: 119. A human rights organization has reported that since the beginning of the current solar year, at least 31 suicide attempts by students in Iran have been recorded. The main causes of these suicides have been reported as poverty, compulsory hijab, and forced marriage. According to the Iranian Human Rights Activists' organization on Wednesday, November 23, among these cases, 26 individuals have died, and five have been saved through the intervention of relevant organizations. This human rights organization has cited reasons including "poverty, imposed hijab, forced marriage, and family disputes" as the causes of these suicides. The media organization of the Iranian Human Rights Activists has warned that "the critical situation of suicide among students in Iran continues." According to this report, suicide attempts by adolescents and children have occurred in various cities across Iran, including Tehran, Gilan, Khuzestan, East and West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Lorestan, Fars, Isfahan, and Central Khorasan. The report mentions cases where two sisters, one year apart, and two sisters simultaneously lost their lives due to suicide. The registration of at least 31 suicide cases among adolescents aged 10 to 17 by this human rights organization in the past 10 months occurs while official statistics on child suicides are not published in Iran, and in some cases, certain media refer to them sporadically. According to the Emtead website in May of this year, at least 196 children have committed suicide in the past five years, with the most cited reasons being "family disputes, forced marriage, child marriage, and child motherhood." Recently, a teenage student named Arzu Khavari in Shahr-e Rey, Tehran, ended her life by falling from a height due to "pressure from school officials and threats of expulsion." Reports also indicate that a girl student in Kazeroon, Fars Province, committed suicide after being expelled for using nail polish and hair dye; however, the Kazeroon prosecutor claimed in response to the suicide of Ainaz Karimi that this action was "due to personal problems" and "not related to school officials." Regarding child suicides, the Child Rights Defense Association announced in 1399 (2020) that between 1390 and 1399 (2011-2020), more than 250 children have committed suicide, while this statistic only includes reported cases, and the actual number is higher. In this study, 48% of reported suicides were among boys and 52% among girls. 45% of suicides occurred between the ages of 9 and 14, and 55% between the ages of 15 and 18. Methods of suicide included hanging (40%), jumping from heights (38%), and drug overdose (12%). The causes of suicides included family problems (28%), educational problems (26%), forced marriage (20%), and poverty (8%). The highest suicide rates have been reported in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, and Hamadan.