More than 30 Kurdish Yazidi women committed suicide in 2013 in Bashiqa, Iraq

shafaaq.com  – 19.11.2013 – MOSUL, Iraq:  A Kurdish Yazidi woman died on Tuesday, five days after burning herself in Ba’shiqah area northeast of Mosul, as suicide cases have increased in this community to more than 30 during the current year only. “

A Yazidi woman from Bahrani town affiliated to Ba’shiqah sub-district (17 km north-east of Mosul) died on Tuesday, after committing suicide 5 days ago after she burned herself and was receiving treatment in a hospital in Duhok, Kurdistan region” A close source with the victim said. He added that the woman is married, around 25 years old and have two children, it is likely that social problems made her commit suicide.

According to competent and informal local organizations the number of suicides have exceeded more than 30 cases during the current year among Yazidis, as 53 suicides have been monitored in Sinjar district in 2012, while 70 suicides have been registered in 2011 and 36 cases during 2010 among Yazidis.

Activists say in this regard that these figures are much lower than the real numbers, because there are many cases that are not monitored or families of the people who committed suicides refrain for the registration deaths of their loved ones, attributing the reason to accidental incidents. Statistics show that the percentage of male suicides is of 36 % and 64% of women, as people who commit suicide are aged between 18 and 30 years old. Women usually tend to burn themselves mostly, while males use bullets, according to the statistics. Mosul, capital city of Ninewa province in Iraq, near the border with Kurdistan region. The Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds located near Mosul. A Kurdish Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds located near Mosul. Some 350,000 Yazidis live in villages around Mosul near Kurdistan autonomous region border. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution states that there will be a referendum in the areas bordering the Kurdistan autonomous region, including the northern oil city of Kirkuk, so that people can choose whether to be ruled by the central government or the Kurds.