Self Immolation is suicide usually for a reason of protest. Self Immolation more means the giving of one's self in a noble, altruistic, or selfless way. Indian females from a very young age are taught that self-sacrifice is god-like and divine. Sita, the Indian wife of god-king Rama is idealized as walking through fire to prove her chastity. Women are often praised for their bravery and social standing if they commit sati (another version of self immolation, in which the woman commits suicide upon her husbands grave).

The political structure does not openly condemn the practice because of the deep religious intonations surrounding it. The psychological outcome upon females is that sacrifice of one's self for the right reason is worthy and honorable. Police often will not stop willful suicides under a theory of religious reverence for the self immolating female.

All though there is a darker side. Often, self immolation is advocated as a solution to a family problem: the family doesn't want to support a widowed woman. Some suspect that the formulation of the tradition was partly a way to get rid of a woman who could not support herself and had no husband to support her. The impoverished widow problem actually stems from India's oppression of women, meaning women would have no real way, formerly, to make a living except depending upon the income of a husband or other family members.

England outlawed the practice of self-immolation, yet police do not enforce the law and accept it as a part of the religious rights of the people. Yet, almost all other nations discourage suicide. Thus, in the mind of the individual contemplating suicide, the social stigma against the suicide is its own deterrent to prevent the person from going forward, yet in India, the stigma is reversed into encouragement with associated praise and reverence. Thus, a female on the borderline of a decision between committing suicide or not may be pressed forward by the social approval surrounding self immolation. In the worst case scenario, self immolation is a social system created to cure over-population, similar to female-child abandonment in China. Indian culture discovered a way to reduce excess female population: encourage femlaes to kill themselves and then promote the death as an act of courage, dignity, and respect.

Though the practice is sometimes viewed with suspicion, sometimes viewed with admiration, it is still somewhat prevalent and somewhat under-reported.

Learn more about this author, Will M Prise.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Self-immolation of a widow: India's best kept secret about women?
We want to hear your view. Write now!