Tajik Suicide Rate Driven Up by Hardship

The Soghd region of northern Tajikistan – by no means the poorest or least developed part of the country – remains a suicide hotspot.

Women in particular may seek to take their own lives because of disputes in the home, generally that of their husband’s extended family.

However, men are also prone to suicide attempts, as the recent tragic death of a teacher showed. Soghd police recorded 54 deaths by suicide in January-March, 26 of them involving men. The rising incidence of suicide among both sexes appears to be influenced by economic problems, which drives male household heads, in particular, to desperate measures.

The audio programme, in Russian and Tajik, went out on national radio stations in Tajikistan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.