On World Suicide Prevention Day, we examine the growing suicide crisis in Iran, particularly focusing on the challenges women and girls face under the clerical regime. Many Iranian women and girls feel they have no choice but to resort to suicide due to immense social and economic pressures.
More than 13 people in Iran commit suicide daily, with the majority between the ages of 15 and 35. According to the Iranian Ministry of Health, 100,000 people attempted suicide in 2018. On average, 125 Iranians per 100,000 people attempt suicide, with six losing their lives. (Persian Wikipedia on suicide in Iran)
This year, beyond the tragic suicides among young people and women, we are witnessing the alarming phenomenon of suicides among medical residents (medical students), nurses, and doctors.
Suicide Crisis Among Medical Residents
Dr. Noor Foroughi Nasab, a pediatric resident at Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd, a city in central Iran, and a mother of a young child took her own life during her residency in Yazd. (Iranian state-run website Asriran.com – July 14, 2024)
The suicide crisis among medical residents in Iran has become a significant concern. Reports show that from mid-March to June 2024, nine residents committed suicide. (The state-run Rouydad24.ir – July 15, 2024) News about these incidents is often delayed, as the Ministry of Health operates under a policy of non-transparency. They attempt to minimize public awareness of the crisis by withholding information. However, the combination of extreme work pressure, intense stress, and low wages pushes medical students to the brink of suicide.
In 2023 alone, 16 young residents committed suicide in less than a year. (The state-run asriran.com – January 17, 2024) This number only includes confirmed suicides reported by state media, while many others remain unreported.
Exploitation of Medical Residents in Hospitals
The operation of hospitals in Iran, which relies heavily on overworking residents, exacerbates the pressure on medical students. The absence of specialist doctors and the delegation of heavy responsibilities to residents drive them to despair.
Reza Lari-Pour, spokesperson for the regime’s Medical Council, acknowledged the residents’ “hopelessness” about their future careers, noting that what they currently experience is far from what they expected before entering the medical field.
This official acknowledged that “A resident cannot afford to rent an apartment in Tehran or cover their basic living expenses.” (Iranian state news agency ILNA – May 11, 2024).
Conversations with residents, doctors, and other insiders reveal a “triangle of misery” involving excessive workload, low wages, and mistreatment by superiors. Simultaneously, residents face heavy financial penalties or requirements for guarantors if they wish to drop out of the program.
They are required to work up to 15-night shifts a month, have no permission to work independently, and must study intensively to pass grueling exams. They receive no financial support. Additionally, the government imposes heavy penalties on those who drop out of these fields, trapping young residents in a cycle of exploitation, and pushing them toward suicide. (The state-run asriran.com – January 17, 2024)
The Suicide Crisis Among Doctors: A Growing Concern
Iranian state media have described the increasing rate of suicides among doctors as “the domino effect of physician suicides.” The state-run Khabaronline.ir reported that suicide rates among medical professionals have increased by 3.1 to 5 times. (June 6, 2024)
Female doctors’ suicides in Iran have increased by 130%. The declining quality of life, income, job security, and social standing contribute to these tragic deaths. This crisis not only threatens the mental health of physicians but could also lead to the collapse of Iran’s healthcare system. (The state-run donya-e-eqtesad.com – April 28, 2024)
Here are some recent examples:
- On March 24, 2024, Parastoo Bakhshi, a cardiologist born in 1989, committed suicide in Delfan, a town in Lorestan province (western Iran).
- On April 25, 2024, Samira Al-Saeedi, a brilliant rheumatologist from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and mother of one, took her own life due to work-related pressures.
- On May 1, 2024, Zahra Maleki Ghorbani, a 28-year-old doctor from Jask in southern Iran (Hormozgan province), committed suicide.
- Social media reports indicate that another doctor, Dr. Leila Modarres Enshaei, also committed suicide in May 2024, though details remain unclear.
- In November 2023, Mitra Asoudeh, a general surgeon, took her life by ingesting pills. She had been assaulted and insulted by the family of a patient in the ICU of Bou-Ali Hospital in Marivan (northwestern Iran) in April but did not file a complaint. After being convicted in court following the family’s lawsuit, she ended her life.
The Plight of Nurses: Hidden Suicide Statistics
Nurses in Iran endure even harsher conditions. Many are forced to work 120 hours of overtime for as little as 20,000 tomans (about $0.50) per hour. If they protest, they face being transferred to remote areas. Nurses in many cities are threatened if they speak out, and they have been waiting for 17 years for the implementation of laws that would regulate their wages.
Sharifi Moghaddam, Secretary General of the House of Nurses, admitted, “Suicide rates among nurses are much higher than those among doctors, but the details cannot be shared.” He added, “Studies from the 2000s showed that 35% of nurses experienced physical violence, and 90% endured verbal abuse within six months, figures that have likely increased significantly in recent years.” Additionally, statistics related to nursing—such as suicides and emigration—are classified and not publicly released. (The state-run eghtesaad24.ir – July 25, 2024)
Poverty and Violence: Key Factors in the Suicides of Young Women
Tragic cases of suicides among women and girls are not confined to any specific group.
Government oppression and discrimination permeate all aspects of life, from education and employment to deeply misogynistic laws. In addition to pervasive poverty, these pressures—compounded by family stress under a patriarchal system, domestic violence, and sexual abuse—often lead Iranian women to desperate ends.
- On July 8, 2024, Beery Mostafazadeh, a woman from Mahabad (northwestern Iran), set herself on fire. A Kurdish woman who lived in isolation, she was a worker at a mosque. After being fired, unable to cope with the harshness of life, she took her life.
- On July 9, 2024, Narin Hosseini from Saqqez hanged herself due to family disputes with her husband.
- On July 20, 2024, Soma Firoozi, a 16-year-old girl in Saqqez (a town in western Iran), jumped to her death.
- On the same day, sisters Elena (13) and Elisa (14) committed suicide by jumping from the 19th floor of a building in the Beheshti Towers of Hakimiyeh (northeastern Tehran). (The state-run Rokna.ir – July 21, 2024)
- In that same month, Sayan Tavangari, 18, ended her life due to financial struggles and the inability to pay for university expenses. (The state-run tejartnews.com – July 14, 2024)
- On July 21, 2024, a 25-year-old woman jumped from an overpass in central Tehran. (The state-run arshehonline.com, July 22, 2024)
- On July 23, 2024, a young woman named Diana Rahmani from the city of Salas-e Babajani (western Iran) committed suicide after being forced into marriage with a much older man.
- On August 25, 2024, a 16-year-old girl in Delgan (southeastern Iran) took her life by ingesting pills.
- The 14-year-old Shima Rameshk, a victim of child marriage, took her own life on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, in Marjanabad, Kurdistan.
These are just a few examples of the countless suicides occurring in Iran under the clerical regime. According to the regime’s Jam-e-Jam newspaper (January 10, 2024), suicide is the fifth leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults, with 52% of those committing suicide being girls.
On August 28, 2024, the state-run Ham Mihan newspaper reported that 7,000 people had committed suicide in 2023, with twenty times that number attempting suicide.
