Kandahar, Afghanistan – A young girl in Kandahar province has taken her own life after being pressured by her family to marry a middle-aged man, local sources reported.
According to sources, the girl was from the village of Tankriz in the Khakrez district of Kandahar and died by consuming poison late on Tuesday, February 18.
Reports indicate that her engagement ceremony took place last week. However, she was deeply unhappy with the arrangement and ultimately decided to end her life.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the number of suicides and self-immolations, particularly among women and girls, has increased significantly. Experts link this alarming trend to the closure of girls’ schools, universities, and medical education centers, as well as forced marriages and severe restrictions on women’s freedom to work and travel.
Similar incidents have been reported in Bamyan, Badakhshan, and Khost provinces, where many young girls, deprived of education and opportunities, have suffered from severe depression, leading to suicide.
