The past few years have seen a rise in discussion and awareness of the importance of good mental health, and the need to enact sensitive and intelligent policies to tackle the increase in mental health problems. Even suicide, a topic usually taboo, highly stigmatised and misunderstood in Pakistani society, was taken up as a topic of discussion in the parliament.
Suicide and its decriminalisation were discussed by the Senate, where Senator Shahadat Awan of the PPP, moved a criminal laws amendment bill proposing to amend the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to abolish punishment for those making attempts to commit suicide, on the plea that this was done by people suffering from mental disorder who deserved medical treatment, not punishment.
It is certainly a sign of progress that this was being discussed by the parliament of Pakistan, when our government has unfortunately not shown the most sensitive approach towards mental health issues. With quotas for disabilities being routinely ignored, mental health institutions do not receive the requisite training and sensitive language has often been disregarded by parliamentarians themselves.
Suicide decriminalisation is a complicated issue, which requires a highly nuanced conversation by experts. There are arguments on both sides—yet everyone should come with the same goal of decreasing the suicide and suicide attempt rate. The statistics and scholarly studies however show that the proponents of the bill may have stronger arguments—globally, suicide is a mental health and medical issue, not a criminal one. Criminalisation of suicide can increase the taboo and stigma on suicide attempt survivors, which can increase their risk of a second attempt.
