Afghan women commit suicide by fire

Georgies Liberation of the women of Afganistan

By ALISA TANG, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 18, 6:04 PM ET

KABUL, Afghanistan - Blood dripped down the 16-year-old girl's face after another beating by her drug addict husband. Worn down by life's pain, she ran to the kitchen, doused herself with gas from a lamp and struck a match.

Desperate to escape domestic violence, forced marriage and hardship, scores of women across Afghanistan each year are committing suicide by fire. While some gains have been made since the fall of the Taliban five years ago, life remains bleak for many Afghan women in the conservative and violence-plagued country, and suicide is a common escape.

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Afghanistan: Self-Immolation Of Women On The Rise In Western

Provinces

The Afghan government is expressing concern over the growing number of women in Herat Province who have killed themselves through self-immolation. Suraya Sobah Rang, Afghanistan's deputy women's affairs minister, says forced marriages and a continued lack of access to education is contributing to the growing despair among Herat's women.

Women on Fire in Afghanistan