Around the world, suicide tends to be prevalent among the older population. However, the scenario in Bangladesh is alarmingly different.
According to research done by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University’s (BSMMU) Department of Psychiatry, the most suicide-prone age group in Bangladesh is 20-35 years.
Data from Police Headquarters shows that in 2017, an average of 30 people committed suicide everyday. Although there is no standard reporting system or nationwide survey, the existing literature puts the average suicide rate in Bangladesh at an estimated 39.6 per 100,000 of the population per year, making it a country with a high rate of suicide.
However, it is only recently that these worrying statistics have caught the public eye, first with the tragic suicide of Viqarunnisa School student Aritry Adhikari, followed by a recent report on an alarming rise in the rate of suicide at public universities in Bangladesh.
All this begs the question: Why are our younger people, especially those in education or just out of it, resorting to such drastic measures and taking their own life? Why is their mental health being ignored until it is too late?
The shackles of education
Nineteen students from five public universities committed suicide last year. The most recent of them was Hozaifa Rashid of the Political Science department at Dhaka University (DU), who took his own life at his paternal home in Tongi on November 22.
Hossain Al Mamun from DU, who also went to school with Rashid, said: “He was very obviously depressed, largely about his academic life. There was a growing distance between him and his old friends while he struggled at university, especially after he failed twice to be promoted to the next academic year.”
Another friend from DU, Mahfuz Anam, echoed the same about Hozaifa regarding his struggles with depression.
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“He attempted to take his own life in 2015 before the final examinations of his second semester. At the time, he was living in a mess in Dhaka’s Chankharpool area,” Mahfuz said.
“We stayed with him then and tried to give him courage. Maybe things would have been different if he was living in dormitory halls surrounded by his friends, but his family did not allow that,” he added.
Mahfuz further said: “Hozaifa always felt a lot of pressure. There are obviously expectations from the family regarding education and career. Watching his friends move on while he continued to study with juniors really hit him hard. He was also in a relationship that ended abruptly. He just couldn’t mentally cope with all this.”
Mahfuz said that the day before the suicide, Hozaifa had learnt the results of a semester that did not turn out well and was not well received by his family.
“I think he just reached breaking point after that,” he said.
However, Mamun pointed out that it is not fair to only blame family and friends, and that the university has a responsibility too.
“Not all students are going to be at the top of their class. Teachers have a responsibility of supporting students who are struggling, and helping them with their studies. A student’s mental condition just got worse day by day, but nobody paid any attention to him,” he said.
In almost all of the recent suicide cases, study pressure at educational institutions was cited as a factor, with Aritry’s suicide even leading to the suspension of her teachers, and criminal cases being filed against them.
Then again, is it fair to blame individual teachers without holding accountable a system that is defined by a race to the top, often at the cost of mental health?
Study, work, sleep, repeat
Dr Erum Mariam, director of Brac University’s Institute of Educational Development, thinks that instead of playing the blame game, the real focus should be on issues of mental health and how they affect people from a very young age.
“As a society, we are so focused on children fulfilling our expectations, be they teachers or parents, we are forgetting that children are individuals with feelings. Adults need to make a paradigm shift and be responsive to the needs of children and young people. We need to listen without judging them, and show more empathy,” Dr Mariam said.
Dr Mehtab Khanam, chairman of the DU Educational and Counseling Psychology Department, also emphasized the importance of empathy, and listening to younger people without judgment.
“We need a talented workforce to render services for mental health and who will just listen to our children. Parents also have to understand the problems and create spaces where young minds can be free and not constantly under pressure,” Dr Khanam said.
She also spoke of the importance of encouraging young people to participate in cultural activities and engaging in spaces that have a positive impact on their mental wellbeing.
However, this is easier said than done, especially in a playing field that grows more competitive by the day.
“We have homework or test assignments almost every single day, either from school or from the coaching centres. I had to give up dancing classes because of this routine. Forget about dancing, I’m too tired to even read before bed,” said 16-year-old Urbi Rahman.
Another student, 17-year-old Sadia Karim, shared: “During my exams, my parents would scold me whenever I read a storybook, because that meant I was not focusing on my schoolwork.”
“People always say you should speak to adults about your problems, but it really is not easy to, because they just think you are lazy or giving up,” she said.
“Our lives are just work, study, study, and work,” said Shaer Haque, a final year English student at Brac University. “There is a constant fear of not being good enough and letting our parents down after they have spent so much money on our education.
“We have to keep going and be the ‘best’, because if you are not a good student you cannot get a good job.So what is the alternative?” he added.
According to Dr Mariam, the change has to come at all levels, and it will not happen overnight.
“We require systemic work and proper advocacy to integrate mental health into the education system and to make institutions and families more supportive and responsive to children and young people. The purpose of education is empowerment, and empowerment must include emotional development and the skills to be able to cope with an uncertain tomorrow,” Dr Mariam concluded.
