Citation

Bhugra D. Crisis 2005; 26(2): 73-77.

Affiliation

Health Services Department, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK. d.bhugra@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Publisher Hogrefe Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16138743

Abstract

Sati as an act of ritual suicide has been reported from the Indian subcontinent, especially among the Hindus, for several centuries. Although legally proscribed, these acts occur even now in modern India. The principle behind such acts has been put forward as the principle of good wife. There is little evidence to suggest that women who commit this act suffer from a formal mental illness. Cultural factors and gender role expectations play a significant role in the act and its consequences. Using recent examples, this paper illustrates the cultural factors, which may be seen as contributing to the act of suicide. Other factors embedded in the act also emphasize that not all suicides have underlying psychiatric disorders and clinicians must take social causation into account while preparing any prevention strategies.