Though suicide has been a silent killer in our society but off late there is another addition to this menace which has afflicted the young students as well. Yes, the rising number of suicides and attempted suicide among students is a matter of grave concern. Recently, a thirteen-year old girl student of sixth grade allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the third floor of the school building in Hyderabad.

Earlier, a Fashion designing institute student in Karachi committed suicide The victim identified as Hussain belonged to Bohra community and stress due to financial issues were the reasons behind his suicide.

Earlier a medical student of Narowal committed suicide after finding the exams difficult.  The victim Zainad was studying D pharmacy and was first year student.

She did not want to study medical at all but her parents forced her to opt for this field and due not coping with the exam difficulty level, she committed suicide. Last year, an MBBS student of Nishtar Medical University attempted suicide claiming that he was intentionally failed during his viva test.

A video message was issued from the student identified as Kashif Raza soon after he gained consciousness after being treated at the Nishtar Hospital. It is pertinent to mention here that the student has cut his blood veins to attempt suicide after being failed in a paper but was saved after he was rushed to the hospital immediately. The student said in his message that he never failed in any of his subjects during the past four-year examinations at the varsity. Raza blamed that he was intentionally failed in the viva procedure as some of the teachers in the varsity have personal grudges against him. Social media is also abuzz with the reports of the student’s suicide attempt as the university administration has denied any discrimination in the viva process, saying that a panel of teachers is part of the viva process and discrimination is out of question.

One more aspect of this menace is that suicide tendencies are higher among Chitral students. The recent case of a teenage Zubair Ahmed, a college student, who succumbed to his injuries after an attempted suicide, is a latest case in point.

He was the only child of his parents, who were pressing him to focus on study rather wasting time in company of friends.

Reports said that on the day of his attempted suicide, his mother had scolded him for not studying on which he got extremely angry and attempted a suicide, later succumbed to injuries in hospital.

Earlier, an 18-year-old medical student of D-Pharmacy from Chitral committed suicide due to failure in exams of first year.  Last year, a 9th class grade student of Upper Chitral area jumped into the Chitral River and drowned in a bid to commit suicide. In July last, a teenage student committed suicide in Sahen area of Ayun.

Separately, a student from Chitral who was studying at Islamia College Peshawar committed Suicide in Hostel Room.

He was a student of BS Mathematics and obviously there was no issue with him, even his college mates and teachers did not notice he was undergoing any mental stress etc. The student had also complained of any problem or mental stress with his teachers or co-students. Psychologists say that attempting or committing suicide on petty things point to serious psychological issues among students and other people of Chitral, where suicide rate is alarmingly high with as many as 13 cases reported last year.

Not only students, suicide rate is unusually high in this mountainous region.

That’s why researcher says that there is an urgent need for conducing conduct mental health surveys and research on this grave issue so that the reasons behind the problem can be determined.

On the other hand, the current economic turmoil and the last year flash floods have multiplied people’s woes, due to which the cases of suicides have further increased in the hilly region. The rate is further accelerating but till now no preventive measures have been adopted by the either the Federal, or the provincial and even the district government to find out the causes behind increasing cases of suicide by young men and women and form a preventive strategy. The economic stress, inflation, price hike and natural calamities have a negative impact on their minds and overall health is unprecedented. A latest newspaper report shows that there is an alarming rise in cases of suicide and attempted suicides due to depression and mental illnesses. The miseries due to economic stress have caused uptick in mental illnesses which is also a big factor for the suicide deaths and the fact that  an estimated  35pc of our population suffer from some kind of mental illness and require psychological help is suffice to show the gravity of  the situation in our society. According Pakistan Association for Mental Health,  depression which is one form of mental illness and which is the one of the main causes of suicide is more prevalent in low and middle income people of the society. In the far-flung areas, people mostly approach quacks and so-called ‘holy men’ for treatment of mental disorders due to which their problems are compounded and they never come out of the situation. Our social set up is such that our family life is disturbed most often than not by strained relations among family members, mostly the couples and their in-laws, unfriendly working environment and strained relations with classmates and co-workers at workplace. Living for long time in such strained environment, it is natural to develop anxiety and depression, which is the leading cause of suicidal deaths. Broken families, bullying friend make persons thing they are inferior and cannot fit in the society due to which they develop depression. It ought to be mentioned with concern that the lack of awareness about mental illness and lack of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists are also among the factors responsible for increasing number of mental patients in the country. And last but not the least, the stigma attached with mental illness and suicidal deaths are also a factor due to which patients and their families avoid consulting psychologists and pursuing mental health regime at hospitals. The general tendency is that people who seek mental treatment are considered to be “abnormal” and “mentally retarded.   Medical experts fear that if proper attention was not paid to control these disorders, they will become one of the leading causes of mortalities in the country in coming years.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 04 2023

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.