Hossein Fatemi

Latifeh, who allegedly set herself on fire due to family violence in year 2004, shows her burn scars at a hostel which provides training in vocational skills in Herat. The hostel is run by the Association for Cooperation with Afghanistan (ACAF). Several local and foreign NGO's across the country run rehabilitation centres where victims of self-immolation learn vocational skills such as baking and embroidery to enable them to earn their livelihoods. Forced marriages and a lack of education contribute to a recent spate of suicide attempts among women in Afghanistan, reports said. Afghan women are in a subordinate position in society, where conservative Islamic laws and traditions dictate what a woman is allowed to do in a male dominated world.