Teenage girls in Pakistan turn to suicide to escape poverty, uncertain future...

To escape from poverty or an uncertain future, teenager girls in Karachi are turning towards the option of ending their lives, said the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in its annual report, ‘State of Human Rights in 2011’ released on Wednesday.

Everyday around five to six teenage suicide attempts are taking place in the city.

Last year, around 1,153 people attempted suicide across Pakistan and 2,131 were successful. HRCP cites data from the National Poison Control Centre in Karachi which receives five or six cases in which people have deliberately tried to ingest poison to end their lives. About 60% of all reported cases are of teenage girls whose families do not want to register the cases as attempted suicide.

HRCP Chairperson Zohra Yusuf said that young women are committing suicide because they are unable to cope with the pressure of everyday life. “Factors such as poverty and forced marriage are making young women commit suicide,” she said. Full story...

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