Domestic violence: Two women commit suicide to end marital problems

Swat sees increase in such incidents.

MINGORA: Two women committed suicide in separate incidents by consuming poison in Swat Valley on Sunday and Monday.

DPO Saleem Marwat said the first case was reported in Matta tehsil. Rasheed Khan, a resident of Bedarra area, reported at the local police station that Sharafat Bibi, his wife, took her life after swallowing poison.



Initial investigation revealed Sharafat Bibi was married to the man for a long time and the marriage was not working out. The wife is said to have locked herself inside a room on Monday morning and ingested potent pesticides.

The police reported the family members broke into the room and found the woman lying in critical condition after which they shifted her to the hospital. However, she did not survive.

In another incident, a woman committed suicide by taking rat poison in Azad Khanda.

Matta police said Rahmania Bibi, aged 17, was married to Rahim and had come to her parents’ house to stay for Eid. On Sunday night, she committed suicide by swallowing poison.

Police took the body for autopsy and filed the case. Investigation revealed the young woman, who was married for two years, was facing domestic violence and committed suicide to escape her situation.

Police filed the cases and investigations are under way.

DPO Saleem Marwat, while talking about the increasing number of suicides in the valley, said most of them were occurring due to domestic violence and personal disputes. However, he added a few of them were also a result of extramarital affairs.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2015.