"Burn Unit"
Mahgul, 14-years-old, who suffers with second degree burns on 43% of her body from self-immolation, has her dressing changed at the Herat Regional Hospital Burn Unit October 22, 2004 in Herat, Afghanistan. Mahgul was married for 25 days in a forced marriage and poured household fuel on herself on the first day of Ramadan. The medical staff says that they have registered over 80 self-immolations in the first seven months of this year. The problems facing women in Afghanistan are complex and are closely linked to their subordinate position in the Afghan society where conservative Islamic laws and traditions dictate what a woman is allowed to do in a male dominated world. Forced marriages, domestic violence, poverty and lack of access to education are several reasons for suicide.
