"Self-Immolation Survivor"
Parigul, 22-years-old, who suffers from severe burns on over 50% of her body from self-immolation, waits for her bandages to be changed, as she lies in a hospital bed at the Herat Regional Hospital Burn Unit October 21, 2004 in Herat, Afghanistan. Parigul was married for three years with a three year old daughter when she tried to kill herself. The medical staff says that they have registered over 80 self-immolations in the first seven months of this year. The problems facing women in Afghanistan are complex and are closely linked to their subordinate position in the Afghan society where conservative Islamic laws and traditions dictate what a woman is allowed to do in a male dominated world. Forced marriages, domestic violence, poverty and lack of access to education are several reasons for suicide.
