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Vol.5 , No. 4, Publication Date: Nov. 28, 2019, Page: 145-148
 in Iraqi Kurdistan. Of these students, 21.2% were in their first, 42.1% in their second, 12.3% in their third, 16.3% in their fourth, 23.5% in their fifth, and 2.7% in their sixth year of medical school. About two-thirds of medical students (>64%), regardless of their gender, viewed these burned patients as cases of attempted suicide rather than as accidental burns. Male and female students differed in the proportions of those agreeing that women should stay subdued under the control of men (48.4% of males, 9.8% of females) and that they are less capable than men (47.6% of men, 26.7% of women), but are generally more happy than men (25.7% of men, 7.1% of women). Female students more often agreed than their male counterparts that life in the Kurdish society is more easy for men than for women (64.5% of men, 86.4% of women) and that patriarchal society makes young females depressed (48.1% of men, 67.7% of women). Thus, the data indicates the majority of medical students considered the severely burned females as attempted suicides. There was a disagreement between the male and female students on the status of women’s rights. The majority of female students disagreed with the traditional subdued role of women, disagreed that women are less capable than men, and they more often agreed that life in the Kurdish society is more easy for men. Medical students are doubtlessly among the most intelligent and valuable young persons in Kurdistan and would hopefully, after graduating, develop effective strategies for prevention of female suicides and for improving the subjective quality of life for women.&picture=http://www.aascit.org/aascit/decorators/img/journal/929.jpg)
| [1] | Mariwan Husni, Department of Psychiatry, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Thunder Bay, Canada. |
| [2] | Nasraw Mustafa, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq. |
| [3] | Banaz Saeed, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq. |
| [4] | Nariman Husni, General Medical Practice, Erbil, Iraq. |
| [5] | Zack Cernovsky, Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. |
The recent phenomenon of suicides by self-burning among young females in Kurdistan needs attention of scientists in psychology, medicine, and medical sociology. The present study examined the opinions of Kurdish medical students on these suicides and on their relationship to the lifestyle of women in that part of the world. A 14 item questionnaire with statements such as “The burns of majority of young women are only an accident” or “Our patriarchal society makes girls depressed” was completed anonymously by 468 medical students (189 males, 286 females; 11 omitted to indicate their gender) in Iraqi Kurdistan. Of these students, 21.2% were in their first, 42.1% in their second, 12.3% in their third, 16.3% in their fourth, 23.5% in their fifth, and 2.7% in their sixth year of medical school. About two-thirds of medical students (>64%), regardless of their gender, viewed these burned patients as cases of attempted suicide rather than as accidental burns. Male and female students differed in the proportions of those agreeing that women should stay subdued under the control of men (48.4% of males, 9.8% of females) and that they are less capable than men (47.6% of men, 26.7% of women), but are generally more happy than men (25.7% of men, 7.1% of women). Female students more often agreed than their male counterparts that life in the Kurdish society is more easy for men than for women (64.5% of men, 86.4% of women) and that patriarchal society makes young females depressed (48.1% of men, 67.7% of women). Thus, the data indicates the majority of medical students considered the severely burned females as attempted suicides. There was a disagreement between the male and female students on the status of women’s rights. The majority of female students disagreed with the traditional subdued role of women, disagreed that women are less capable than men, and they more often agreed that life in the Kurdish society is more easy for men. Medical students are doubtlessly among the most intelligent and valuable young persons in Kurdistan and would hopefully, after graduating, develop effective strategies for prevention of female suicides and for improving the subjective quality of life for women.
Keywords
Suicide, Students, Self-burning, Social Psychiatry, Gender
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