550 women attempted suicide within a year: report

Many of the women who tried to take their own lives were students or married or working professionals

ISLAMABAD: When the world is celebrating International Women’s Day, statistics released by Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) have revealed how distress and miserable conditions compel women to take their own lives.

According to the institute, about 550 women attempted suicide in a year. Fortunately, the death rate remained less than one per cent.

The patients were brought from Rawalpindi, Islamabad and its adjoining areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Many of the women were students or married or working professionals and attempted suicide due to emotional distress, financial problems and domestic reasons. Most of them used a corrosive material, such as toilet cleaners that damaged their esophagus and stomach.



These patients were treated in emergency and medical and gastro departments of the hospital. Lesions were detected through endoscopy and treated whereas cases in which stomach and esophagus were seriously damaged were referred for surgery.

Officials said while those brought to the hospital for corrosive intake included males, 80 to 90 per cent among them were females. Young girls consumed corrosive substance due to a number of issues with their parents or emotional trauma because of their partners.

Married women brought in the emergency wards consumed such substances because of various domestic issues with their husbands or in-laws.