The Kolhis are one of the most economically disadvantaged communities in Thar and Sindh. Poverty, unemployment and lack of resources are reportedly the leading causes of the suicides among this community. Two brothers committed suicide in Mirpurkhas district on May 30, only months after their elder brother and mother had reportedly killed themselves. This shows the gravity of the situation irrespective of what led the four unfortunate souls to take their own lives. Veerji, the CM’s special assistant, says it gives a distorted picture of the reality to ascribe only economic causes to the suicides. There might be several reasons — poverty, joblessness, discrimination, domestic violence, mental illness and the inability to marry the person of one’s choice — that push people to prefer death to life.
The desert region has reported the highest number of suicides in Sindh in the past one year, with 18 men and women committing suicide in May alone, and most of them were young women. Of the 18 victims of unfortunate circumstances, 11 were from the minority community and seven from the majority community. The youngest was a 10-year-old girl. Socio-economic conditions of those from the majority community too are not better either. A few days ago, two young men and a young woman committed suicide in other parts of Sindh. One of them was said to be without work due to the coronavirus lockdown. Family members of suicide victims usually conceal the causes for fear of police cases. The situation can be mitigated by expanding job opportunities with locally available resources. This needs political will.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2020.
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