Conversation with Fatemeh Karimi, writer and researcher

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This is a caption.
Sousan Mohammadkhani Ghiasvand

From time to time, they hold celebrations for themselves, burning cages and breaking guns. I call them the men of the land who have closed their eyes to the self-immolation and suicide of their women and the acts of violence against them. The same men whose voices were raised in “protest against the humiliation of Kurdish women and their traditional clothing” by the police force in Marivan, forcing the chief of police in Iran to apologize to the women of Kurdistan. But a few weeks later, when a thirteen-year-old girl from Bukan lost her life from her father’s beatings, there was no news of the protesting men of Kurdistan. They passed by this incident; just as they have passed by countless news and statistics of the self-immolation and suicide of Kurdish women and their murders.

According to published reports, western provinces of Iran, especially the provinces of Lorestan and Ilam, have the highest rates of self-immolation and suicide among women; although it can be said that there has been no comprehensive and complete research on suicide and self-immolation among women in all provinces and cities of Iran, which can lead to such a conclusion. Also, the statistics published by some organizations and institutions regarding suicide differ and are not consistent. For example, in the fall of 2012, a research article was published in the Journal of Health System Research, in which the statistics of the Ministry of Health were compared with the statistics of the Statistical Center of Iran regarding recorded cases of suicide. This article only studied the statistics published in 2004. As stated in the article, “the highest rate of suicide according to the statistics of the Statistical Center of Iran was in the provinces of Ilam, Lorestan, and Hamadan; while according to the statistics of the Ministry of Health,

On the other hand, it has been several years since the Legal Medicine Center has stopped publishing suicide statistics in the country, and the last published statistics by this center are related to the year 1392. For this reason, I sent an email to the official website of this organization and requested that they send me the statistics related to suicide in the whole country and different provinces, as well as the statistics of suicide and self-immolation among women in the whole country and different provinces. After two days, they replied: “Hello, please send your request with an official letter to fax number 55890707 (along with your contact number) so that the matter can be investigated. Legal Medicine Organization of the country.”

In response, I am writing to them that I am outside the country. I am also giving them a contact number. But there is no news from the Legal Medical Organization’s response.

In 2013, Shapour Kordi, the deputy of prevention at the Ilam Welfare Province, criticized the inaccurate statistics of the medical university in this region regarding suicide and self-immolation. He stated, “For several years, according to the statistics of the medical university, we have been faced with zero cases of suicide and self-immolation in the city of Shirvan Chardavol, while this city consistently has high rates of suicide and self-immolation.”

Kurdi had also reported on the lack of accurate statistics on self-immolation in the province, but at the same time had stated that no family in Ilam province is immune to suicide and self-immolation. He had announced a change in the method of suicide in Ilam province, and had referred to the use of pills and poison as the most common method of suicide during the agricultural seasons in Ilam province.

The question is: When there has been no comprehensive and complete research on suicide and self-immolation among women in the whole country, when published statistics by different centers do not match, when statistics are completely wrongfully published by some responsible institutions, and when true information and statistics are kept hidden, why should we accept that the highest rates of suicide and self-immolation among women are related to western provinces and sometimes Ilam and sometimes Lorestan?

Fatemeh Karimi, a writer and researcher, says: “The reality is that, like other social phenomena in Iran, there is no accurate statistics on the rate of suicide and self-immolation. Efforts are being made to conceal these statistics, they are contradictory, or the cause of death is attributed to reasons other than suicide. However, the lack of accurate statistics on female suicide and self-immolation does not diminish the reality of this phenomenon, especially in western regions of Iran. This phenomenon exists and has been occupying the minds of many social activists in this region for years. Perhaps the statistics are not accurate, but the observations and reports indicate the existence of this problem in most areas of Iran, especially in western regions. Despite the lack of accurate statistics on the rate of suicide, the coverage of such incidents in various Kurdish media outlets has made us aware of such incidents every day.”

Why do women commit suicide?

Experts discuss various reasons for women’s suicide. According to some, “severe social changes, imposed wars, economic issues, and rapid population growth have greatly affected society.”

Some others believe that women’s awareness of their rights is one of the reasons for women’s suicide, and they believe that aware women see the gap between their real life and what they deserve, and that they are confronted with strong laws, customs, traditions, and patriarchal systems to achieve those rights, they see themselves as inferior in this system and therefore become frustrated and depressed.

Some also attribute depression caused by war as the cause of suicide in women and believe that Kurdistan has been a war-torn region for eight years, which can lead to depression in Kurdish women and consequently increase suicide rates in western provinces. However, since the age of suicide in women is under twenty years old, meaning that these women were either not born during the war or were considered young children at the time, other reasons must be sought for suicide and depression in this group of women.

Family conflicts, interference of others in life, domestic violence and spousal abuse, forced marriages, loyalty to outdated customs, and anti-women attitudes in a society transitioning to modernity can be other reasons for suicide in women. Unemployment, economic problems, and addiction should also be added to this list. However, since no comprehensive research has been done in the entire country, it cannot be easily determined which of these mentioned reasons contribute more to suicide and self-immolation in women.

A few years ago, a case study was conducted on one hundred women who had attempted suicide in one of the hospitals in Ahvaz city. The results of this study were published in the 1392 issue of the scientific journal “Women and Culture”. Seventeen reasons were mentioned as the causes of women’s suicide in this research. In seven cases, men played a major role alone or alongside other reasons. Reasons such as forced marriage, family conflicts, spouse unemployment, bipolar disorder, marital disputes, economic problems, and infertility. However, the reason that accounted for the highest percentage, 38%, was “unknown”. This means that 38% of women were not willing to disclose the reason for their suicide attempt. It is also not clear what role men played in this 38% of unknown reasons. After the unknown reason, “marital disputes” with 21% and “family conflicts” with 20% were the most common reasons for these one hundred women to attempt suicide.

Fatemeh Karimi, a PhD student in sociology at the Paris School of Social Sciences, believes that “none of the social phenomena and problems can be attributed to a single factor, and their causes cannot be reduced to one or a few specific reasons.”

He points to the differences in reasons given by social activists, sociologists, and psychologists for the push towards suicide, and the worst form of it, self-immolation, and says: “Undoubtedly, in a society like Iran that has been struggling with economic, political, social, and cultural problems for years, poverty, unemployment, and addiction are among the prominent consequences of such a situation. On the other hand, despite the increase in women’s cultural capital through access to education, the opening of the virtual world to women, and their increased presence in the public sphere, women are now facing a new world of information and knowledge about their own situation and the world around them. They have challenged many of the previous laws and norms, but despite this change in situation, society, the government, and its subordinate institutions still emphasize maintaining the previous status quo by relying on old norms. Where women are looking at their present and future, the government and all its derivatives are still stuck in the past.

Which women are more likely to attempt self-immolation?

Based on a case study conducted on one hundred women in a hospital in Ahvaz, “women who attempt suicide are more depressed and have more nervousness compared to normal women.” Additionally, poor women are more likely to attempt suicide than women with better economic status. Young women are more likely to attempt suicide than older women. The prevalence of suicide in young women is seen in age groups of 14 to 25 years old. Suicide is more common in married women than single women. Educated women are significantly less likely to attempt suicide compared to illiterate or low-educated women. It should also be noted that, according to some sociologists, “the tendency towards suicide has increased in students as the conscious generation.” And finally, the rate of suicide in unemployed and housewife women is higher than employed women.

But Karimi believes that it is not easy to provide a correct answer to the question posed: “Where there is no data corresponding to a reality, it is impossible to talk about other dimensions of this issue and answer more detailed questions. Surely, women who have more resources have more ways to solve their daily problems. Analyses show that women who have less resources, and therefore have fewer support options, are more likely to resort to self-immolation. However, this does not mean that self-immolation is limited to women from more deprived classes. Sometimes, educated and employed women also choose this method to end their lives, although their numbers are much lower. Family conflicts, which do not recognize class boundaries, can be the most important factor in driving women to self-immolation. Although many choose other methods such as poisoning to commit suicide, the trend of self-immolation in these areas has caused some women to use this method. Self-immolation, due to its more visible dimensions and external appearance,

Why is the rate of self-immolation among women high?

If the statistics are correct, we must ask: What kind of society is the Kurdish community politically, socially, economically, and culturally, where the rate of self-immolation among women is higher than other parts of the country? If the statistics are correct, we must ask why the highest number of self-immolation cases belong to Kurdish women? And finally, if the statistics are correct, we must ask: What kind of woman is a Kurdish woman who commits self-immolation? What characteristics and qualities does she have? Which social class does she belong to? We must ask about the man in her life.

Karimi, who has written two books titled “The Tragedy of the Body” and “Polygamy: Lifestyle and Consequences” and has a background in research in Iranian Kurdistan, responds: “At first, I mentioned that there is no accurate statistics on the issue of self-immolation, but what is undeniable is the existence of this issue in western regions of Iran, especially in Kurdish areas. In explaining this issue, it can be said that the conflicting conditions that have arisen for women in Iran in general have also affected many Kurdish women in particular. They are not exempt from this rule. On one hand, Kurdish women have recently benefited from education, health, and many personal freedoms. They have become aware of their rights through various channels and are no longer willing to live like women of past generations. Compared to past generations, their expectations for life have increased and they are no longer willing to confine themselves within the narrow confines of society.”

He continues to describe the situation in Iranian Kurdistan: “Due to years of war between Iran and Iraq, ongoing conflicts between the central government and Kurdish parties, the government’s security-focused approach to this region, lack of investment in various sectors, poverty, unemployment, and addiction have spread in Iranian Kurdistan. These problems in turn exacerbate cultural and social issues. This contradictory situation has also affected many other marginalized regions in Iran and has created chaotic conditions, especially for women. Self-immolation is one of the common phenomena in this region.”

This researcher considers the lack of a comprehensive analysis of the issue of self-immolation in Kurdish women as a noteworthy point. He also criticizes the incorrect analysis of violence against women, stating: “Sometimes, self-immolation in women is reduced solely to cultural factors. Instead of examining the various dimensions of this issue, attempts are made to attribute self-immolation in women to only family and personal problems, as well as cultural violence in these regions. The mistake that is often made in analyzing the issue of violence against women is that social labels are easily applied based on various statistics. Only statistical data is used to demonstrate the level of violence against women and the oppression of women in that region. For example, the absence of high suicide rates in Sistan and Baluchestan province or Bandar Abbas cannot be interpreted as better conditions for women in these regions. Despite its negative personal, familial, and societal consequences, a higher rate of self-immolation can also indicate an increase in women’s awareness.

What is the role of men in self-immolation among women?

Some try to only search for the cause of self-immolation in Kurdish men in their analyses. This analysis, by ignoring the main reasons, simplifies a complex issue that takes the lives of many women every year, not just in Kurdistan but throughout the country. Are Kurdish men the reason for self-immolation among Kurdish women? What is the role of Kurdish men in the self-immolation of Kurdish women?

Karimi responds: “In examining the role of men in driving women to self-immolation, it must be emphasized that men are also a result of the process of social acceptance in a patriarchal system that demands a specific behavior and conduct from them. Blaming men for the issue of women’s self-immolation without a systematic and structural approach is a continuation of the same policy that aims to reduce the root of social and economic problems of society to an individual level and thus completely eliminate the main issue. In a society where poverty, unemployment, addiction, etc. prevail, culture, tradition, religion, and most importantly, the law explicitly defend male dominance, and it is not easy to simply blame men. These issues must be looked at from a comprehensive perspective beyond the individual.”

Undoubtedly, we cannot consider Kurdish men as the main or sole cause of self-immolation among Kurdish women. However, by recalling what I have written in the introduction of this article, we can ask why Kurdish men, who have reached a level of awareness that they should burn cages and release birds, break guns and let nature’s animals be at ease – even in a country where occasional news or videos of animal abuse are shared on social media – why have they turned a blind eye to self-immolation among Kurdish women? Why is it that when someone who is not Kurdish insults a Kurdish woman’s clothing, they face the reaction and protest of Kurdish men, but when a Kurdish man, even if he takes the life of a Kurdish woman, there is no objection from Kurdish men? Why has violence against Kurdish women, self-immolation and suicide among Kurdish women not yet become an issue for Kurdish men? Why is there no collective will among Kurdish men to react to self-immolation and suicide among Kurdish

This is a picture of a beautiful sunset over the ocean.
Fateme Karimi, writer and researcher.

Fatemeh Karimi, a researcher, refers to the repetition of such reactions in men: “The reaction of some Kurdish men to the incident of disrespecting a criminal in the form of women’s clothing in the city of Marivan last year was also repeated in the case of Farinaz Khosravani’s death in the city of Mahabad. What happens that suddenly many Kurdish men pay attention to women’s issues? What happens that many Kurdish men prefer to break their perpetual silence against the violation of women’s rights all at once?”

Karimi responds to his questions, saying: “By carefully examining these two events, what is most evident is that the reaction of Kurdish men to these two cases has been more towards the government or the larger entity lacking legitimacy, rather than towards the specific issue of Kurdish women’s rights. Kurdish men, who often turn a blind eye to such events, suddenly become dual-feminists, causing surprise to everyone. Like many classic leftists who only view women’s issues through an economic lens, the majority of Kurdish men only highlight women’s issues when the cause is government institutions or individuals associated with the government. In other situations, silence and turning a blind eye to the truth is the best option. As a national minority, Kurds try to present a worthy face of themselves in order to assert their demands. In this pursuit, they try to push their dark side to the margins or remain silent about it. The dark side only becomes visible when the cause is the same larger entity lacking legitimacy. Kurdish women

Why do some women use self-immolation, which is the most painful method of suicide?

Undoubtedly, self-immolation is a painful choice of death. It is one of the worst methods of suicide. If a person dies, they will experience a death accompanied by great pain and suffering. If they survive, they will be plagued with physical problems and mental anguish caused by self-immolation for the rest of their life. But the question is, why do some women choose the worst and most painful method for suicide? Why do they self-immolate?

Karimi says, “Suicide through self-immolation is not the main method of female suicide. Poisoning through pills and medication is also mentioned in most cases. However, due to the obvious and influential aspects of self-immolation and the impossibility of keeping it hidden, this type of suicide has become more visible and reflected in the media. But why do some women still choose this method despite the severity of the injuries? One of the reasons that is believed to play a role in women’s inclination towards it is the public outcry against the current situation that these women want to express. As I mentioned, suicide through poisoning is less likely to be seen and convey a message. Suicide through self-immolation attracts more media attention. Another reason for the inclination towards this act can be seen as the transformation of suicide through self-immolation into a “trend” in some Western regions. Due to the prevalence of this issue in these regions, this method of killing oneself has gradually gained ground in the area

How can we reduce suicide and self-immolation among women?

Every 40 seconds, one person commits suicide in the world. This statistic was released by the World Health Organization in September 2014. This means that 900 people end their lives every hour in the world. This number reaches 21,600 people in a day. According to experts, “the suicide rate is high in developed countries, but most self-immolations occur in Asia and the Middle East. Iran ranks first in female suicide in the Middle East. Iran is also the third country where the suicide rate is rapidly increasing.” In mid-April of this year, the Minister of Health also announced, “the rate of depression in the country is more than 12%. This means that more than 9 million people in the country are at risk of committing suicide due to depression.” Women are more likely to commit suicide than men, but suicide in men is more likely to result in death. What should be done to prevent suicide and self-immolation in women? How can this statistic

Fatemeh Karimi, who is not hopeful about reducing suicide in women, says: “Where the reasons for a phenomenon are not individual and the larger structures of society play the main role in its occurrence, it is not possible to make effective efforts towards reducing this issue without creating changes in this larger system. As long as society is based on inequality between the two genders and defends one side at the expense of the other in its programs, and resolutely defends it, we cannot hope for improvement in the situation of women and reduction of female suicide. Certainly, in such a structure, the forms of suicide may change, but suicide will continue in different ways.”