Kabul

In Afghanistan, at least 347 people made suicide attempts in nine different provinces in 2022, Afghanistan-based Tolo News reported.

Most of the suicide cases were due to poverty, family violence, unemployment and lack of freedom. However, there are more female suicide instances in Afghanistan than male ones.

At least 60 of the people who attempted suicide lost their lives. At the top of the list is Badakhshan province with records of 251 suicide attempts, Tolo News said.

Tolo News reached out to a 20-year-old woman in Badakhshan who attempted suicide but survived after being taken to the hospital. The women's relatives said that she attempted suicide after struggling with poverty.

"She drank acid to commit suicide. We took her to the doctor and then took her to Faizabad. We brought her two to three times to the hospital here, she has now gone through surgery and she is in good condition," said Sakhi, her brother.

"We have registered 250 suicide attempts. Of them, 188 are female and 62 are male," said Homyayoun Frootan, head of the provincial hospital.

A total of 14 people attempted suicide in Ghor province, 11 people in Khost province, seven people in Sar-e-Pul province, five people in Nangarhar province, five people in Maidan Wardak, three people in Bamiyan, two people in Urozgan and one person in Kapisa province who attempted suicide.

Sadidqullah Shaheen, commander of Bamiyan, said: "We registered three suicide attempts and the motive behind these suicides is said to be family violence."

"14 suicide attempts happened. The motives behind them were economic difficulties and family violence," said Mustafa Haqqani, the head of the security department of Ghor.

Psychologists believe that many suicide attempts in Afghanistan are due to economic hardships and family violence. "The suicide attempts happen mainly due to family violence, poverty, illiteracy, unawareness, being homeless and jobless and also facing an uncertain future," said Qadeer Baran, a psychologist, as quoted by Tolo News.

According to local officials, a woman recently committed suicide and ended her life in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan.

A man also in the Yangi Qala district of Takhar shot himself and ended his life, the provincial officials said.

According to the World Health Organization, nearly 800,000 people attempt suicide globally every year.