Ayfer Serce was a reporter for Turkey's Euphrates News Agency and Western-based Kurdish media. Serce, also known as Silan Aras, was in Iran's West Azerbaijan Province to investigate suicides among women in the region when she was killed.
RSF condemns the death of the journalist and says the possibility that her death is linked to her work should not be ignored. The Euphrates News Agency has blamed the Iranian military for Serce's death.
Nowhere To Turn
Self-Immolation In Afghanistan
"Before she committed suicide, my sister always said she hoped she would never return to Afghanistan and experience the closed atmosphere of Herat," an Afghan woman named Virdee told RFE/RL.
At a shelter in Herat Virdee met several women who had attempted to kill themselves through self-immolation. The most tragic case, Virdee says, involved a young pregnant woman who survived despite suffering severe burns over 60 percent of her body....(more)
See also:
South Asia: Recent Killings, Violence Underscore Lack Of Progress In Gender Justice
Central Asia: Women’s Rights Groups Fight Gender Violence
UN: Women's Conference Sees Progress On Rights Overshadowed By Violence