Tongues of Fire: Women's Suicide and Self-Injury by Burns in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

Self-burning and self-immolation are forms of self-harm found across the Eastern Mediterranean region and South and Central Asia. The majority of those choosing these methods of self-harm are young women. Using data from 100 young female survivors of suicidal attempts in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, this article analyses the phenomenon in the context of a life-course progression arguing that the period around first marriage is a time of particular trauma to women. We suggest that self-burning should be understood as a communicative act with an indigenous semiology which functions as an expression of subordinated agency within a male-dominated society, in which marriage is a major source of conflict between generations and genders.