Additional reporting by Hamna Dogar and Rizwan Butt
University students in Pakistan are suffering from severe mental health symptoms, as limited mental health awareness and a fear of seeking help prevents them from accessing support.
While official data has not been collected, a Nayadaur report said hundreds of students in Pakistan have attempted suicide and at least a dozen had taken their own lives in the past two years.
Just this week, News International Pakistan said two students had died, one in mysterious circumstances.
Rushaan Farrukh, a student at Beaconhouse National University, took her own life on November 27 last year after she uploaded a picture of herself on Instagram with a caption indicating her intention.
Beaconhouse National University 24-year-old student Fatima* said the Instagram post was not initially taken seriously and her friends only realised the severity of the issue after reading her other social media posts.
“She wrote a Facebook status about suicide and when we later looked deeper, we realised that some of her captions were also hinting this,” she said.
“Some of her friends later shared that there were some things affecting her but we did not realise that they could be so serious.”
She said Farrukh was being bullied by others, which had “shattered” her confidence.
“She had so much going on at one time that she couldn’t comprehend.”
F-7/2 Islamabad psychologist Masooma Khalid said she has at least one client a week who has contemplated suicide and often they did not have anyone to talk to about the sensitive topic.
“Mostly young people have an idea that they are not feeling well or something is wrong, but our culture is such that people keep problems and issues to themselves and are introverted about it,” she said.
“They simply need someone to talk to, someone who is welcoming with who they can share their problems.
“Awareness here needs to be created so that people know where to go or who to call when they need someone to talk to.”
She said mental health problems were common among university students and were the result of difficult family relationships, problems at school and competition between students in appearance and financial status.
“These are students who come from broken families, have problems regarding their educational status or face issues in colleges,” she said.
“There is a constant competition of who has more or sometimes who is better looking, and they constantly feel the pressure.”
She also said the stigma around mental health conditions in home life caused students to overlook symptoms that may be serious.
“Families are not aware of the symptoms that lead to this problem, they think it is nothing but stress and do not consider depression alone to be a big issue,” she said.
Ms Khalid said some universities had introduced counselling services, while others were “lagging” in providing support for students.
2009 WHO Mental Health in Pakistan report said Pakistan has one of the lowest mental health support access rates in the world, with 0.19 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people.
The report also said only 0.4 per cent of all health expenditures were directed towards mental health services.
Pakistan passed mental health legislation in 2001, but the report said these laws have not been implemented.
Suicide is forbidden in Islamic scripture, and is an offence under Pakistani law that may result in imprisonment or a fine.
Rushaan Farrukh via Instagram.
Farrukh’s death caught the attention of the media and influential instagram accounts, and saw an flurry of posts raising awareness around issues of mental health and suicide.
FHM Magazine Pakistan, a fashion publication, posted a photo of Farrukh to their 1.1 million Instagram followers, calling for people to take depression seriously and to be nice to others.
Pakistani blogger and influencer Sehrish Azhar posted a similar photo and said depression should be treated professionally.
Farrukh’s story captured wider public attention in Pakistan, resulting in a spike in Google searches for the word ‘suicide’ around the time of her death.
Fatima said while Farrukh’s death was a reminder to be aware of mental health symptoms and to treat others with care, she said she could have done more to help her friend.
“I feel like people spend a lot of their time criticising others even though we all have flaws and we’re not perfect in any way,” she said.
“I will forever live with the guilt of not knowing that she needed a shoulder to lean on and I could never be there for her.
“It is still very hard for me to move on even though it has been a while.”
*name has been changed.
Lifeline Australia – 13 11 14 – Crisis Support and Suicide Prevention.
Feature photo by Banter Snaps via Unsplash.
