Source:
McClatchy NewspapersIn Iraqi Kurdistan, women driven to suicide
Cheryl Diaz Meyer
January 3, 2008 3:38 AM
IRBIL, Iraq - Iman Eaziden Bakr raised her chin, her eyes glistening in the dim light.
''I thought, 'This is my death,''' she said. ''I felt like a chicken being roasted. I will never forget the torture of my skin. It was so painful, as if my insides were being exposed.''
Her tea had long gone cold as she recounted Jan. 14, the day she poured kerosene on her body and set herself on fire.
Despite the economic boom in Iraqi Kurdistan, Bakr and her family are among the majority of Kurds who live in poverty. Eight people live together in one room.
''I started feeling hopeless about life, and I couldn't bear their fighting anymore,'' she said. ''So I sacrificed myself for my family. But it was useless.''
When she returned home from the hospital, it was worse.
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