In a study on suicides in Gujarat — ‘Life snuffed out?’— the Ahmedabad Women’s Action Group (AWAG) has come up with many such significant findings.

The study, undertaken 50 years after the first of its kind was conducted in 1955 by the Saurashtra government of that time, sought to find out the changes in the pattern of suicides in the state during this period.

According to the 1955 study, the number of women committing suicide (66.4 per cent) was double than that of men (33.6 per cent). According to the present study, all districts in the state have more men than women committing suicide.

In fact, in all the four districts where the study was originally conducted earlier — Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhavnagar and Junagdh — the instances of women committing suicide have decreased.

The study was conducted jointly by Edwin Masihi, Ila Pathak and Nalini Trivedi.

Incidentally, the overall decrease in the number of suicides is quite high in Surat, which has recorded the highest number of male suicides (63.1 per cent). Ahmedabad follows closely at 60.8 per cent.

Moreover, the highest number of suicides is reported among Hindus, a phenomenon which was prevalent in 1955 as well. The causes of suicide also have not changed.

Men commit suicide due to their own limitations like unemployment, whereas for women, family and social reasons like childlessness and dowry play the major role.

On the flip side, the number of suicides has increased by five times. Also, a large percentage of married women (34.7 per cent) commit suicides compared to unmarried women (14.8 per cent).

… contd.