Social harassment, psychological pressure behind suicide in Palestinian society
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Ali Daraghma and Saud Abu Ramadan
Asmaa, a 30-year-old Palestinian young woman, was lying in a recovery bed at Nablus National Hospital in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, where her life was saved after she drank a toxic substance trying to put an end to her miserable life.
Asmaa, who declined to give her family name, is one of dozens of women in the West Bank who tried to commit suicide to end their lives due to living under miserable social conditions in a closed strict traditional Palestinian society and tight Israeli security measures in the entire West Bank.
Samir Abu Za'roor, a Palestinian physician and director of the forensic unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, said that Asmaa was lucky because she did not face the same fate of 28-year- old Widad, who committed suicide and died several months ago.
"Widad, also from Nablus, had committed suicide and died after she drank a toxic agricultural material several months ago," said Abu Za'roor, adding that "she committed suicide after it came to her knowledge that her husband got married to another woman."
Palestinian police officials and human rights groups said that suicide incidents in the West Bank reached its highest average in 2009, adding that the phenomenon is growing up and most of those who commit suicide are young females and women.
The Central Palestinian Statistic Bureau (CPSB) said in a report that the Palestinian society is considered a young society compared with other Arab societies, adding that young men and women are representing 85 percent of the Palestinian society, the highest in the world.
However, the CPSB did not give exact figures on the number of Palestinians who commit suicide, adding that in many suicide cases, the families refuse to give details due to the clan's honor and dignity, while many cases were registered at hospitals as normal death.
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) police media office said in a statement that the registered cases of Palestinians committing suicide reached 308 in 2009, 14 of them died and the rest survived.
However, Palestinian specialists said the figure could be more than that.
Zeyad el-Arandi, a Palestinian physician and director of the psychiatric unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, told Xinhua that the reasons behind committing suicide in the West Bank are related to the psychological stress and social pressures that usually last for more than six months.
"The solution is to solve these social and psychological problems and improve the social living," said al-Arandi.
The last two cases happened last week in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, when two women drank toxic materials and were taken to hospitals for treatment and rescued at last, according to a police official in the city.
The official, who spoke in condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that initial investigations revealed that the two young women took toxic materials due to family disputes and being unable to survive amid their families' pressure on them.
Husam al-Jouhary, chief of Nablus National Hospital, told Xinhua that those who committed suicide and were taken to hospitals are aged between 18 and 30 years old, and are mostly females.
Eyad al-Barghouti, a Palestinian physician and director of Ramallah center for studies and human rights, believed the reason behind the increase of suicide cases is social, psychological and economic.
"There is unbalance in the Palestinian society that produced a minor class of people who are very rich and left a majority of people living in poverty and suffering from hard living conditions, " said al-Barghouti.
He added that "the Israeli security measures and the roadblocks made life in the West Bank so hard."
-- Xinhua
Asmaa, a 30-year-old Palestinian young woman, was lying in a recovery bed at Nablus National Hospital in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, where her life was saved after she drank a toxic substance trying to put an end to her miserable life.
Asmaa, who declined to give her family name, is one of dozens of women in the West Bank who tried to commit suicide to end their lives due to living under miserable social conditions in a closed strict traditional Palestinian society and tight Israeli security measures in the entire West Bank.
Samir Abu Za'roor, a Palestinian physician and director of the forensic unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, said that Asmaa was lucky because she did not face the same fate of 28-year- old Widad, who committed suicide and died several months ago.
"Widad, also from Nablus, had committed suicide and died after she drank a toxic agricultural material several months ago," said Abu Za'roor, adding that "she committed suicide after it came to her knowledge that her husband got married to another woman."
Palestinian police officials and human rights groups said that suicide incidents in the West Bank reached its highest average in 2009, adding that the phenomenon is growing up and most of those who commit suicide are young females and women.
The Central Palestinian Statistic Bureau (CPSB) said in a report that the Palestinian society is considered a young society compared with other Arab societies, adding that young men and women are representing 85 percent of the Palestinian society, the highest in the world.
However, the CPSB did not give exact figures on the number of Palestinians who commit suicide, adding that in many suicide cases, the families refuse to give details due to the clan's honor and dignity, while many cases were registered at hospitals as normal death.
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) police media office said in a statement that the registered cases of Palestinians committing suicide reached 308 in 2009, 14 of them died and the rest survived.
However, Palestinian specialists said the figure could be more than that.
Zeyad el-Arandi, a Palestinian physician and director of the psychiatric unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, told Xinhua that the reasons behind committing suicide in the West Bank are related to the psychological stress and social pressures that usually last for more than six months.
"The solution is to solve these social and psychological problems and improve the social living," said al-Arandi.
The last two cases happened last week in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, when two women drank toxic materials and were taken to hospitals for treatment and rescued at last, according to a police official in the city.
The official, who spoke in condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that initial investigations revealed that the two young women took toxic materials due to family disputes and being unable to survive amid their families' pressure on them.
Husam al-Jouhary, chief of Nablus National Hospital, told Xinhua that those who committed suicide and were taken to hospitals are aged between 18 and 30 years old, and are mostly females.
Eyad al-Barghouti, a Palestinian physician and director of Ramallah center for studies and human rights, believed the reason behind the increase of suicide cases is social, psychological and economic.
"There is unbalance in the Palestinian society that produced a minor class of people who are very rich and left a majority of people living in poverty and suffering from hard living conditions, " said al-Barghouti.
He added that "the Israeli security measures and the roadblocks made life in the West Bank so hard."
-- Xinhua