Female Suicide in Ghizer: Policy Gaps, Social Vulnerabilities, and Pathways to Prevention

Abstract

Female suicide in Ghizer, Gilgit–Baltistan, has emerged as a persistent public health and human rights concern, yet policy responses remain fragmented and poorly resourced. This study synthesizes available secondary evidence, local media reports, and stakeholder perspectives to map policy gaps, identify social vulnerabilities, and outline actionable prevention pathways. Findings indicate systemic underreporting due to the absence of a standardized surveillance system, stigma-driven silence, and weak medico-legal protocols. Social risk factors cluster around constrained mobility, early and forced marriages, intimate partner violence, limited mental-health literacy, economic dependency, and geographic isolation that impedes access to timely care. Institutional barriers include insufficient school- and community-based prevention programs, lack of gender-sensitive policing and case management, and minimal integration of mental health within primary care.

Keywords: Ghizer, Suicide, Health, Mental, Policy, Medico-Legal Protocols.