In Herat alone, there were 75 reported cases of self immolation during 2005.

In the few preceding weeks, up to 10 young persons reportedly committed self immolation.

In some instances, failed attempts at murdering girls and women by immolation have been alleged to be suicide attempts.

There are regular reports of cases of self immolation (85 by AIHRC this year) that are partially attributed to child and forced marriages.

The lack of adequate support and responses to women victims of violence has been linked to the high rate of incidents of self immolation across the country.

CAIRO The self immolation a year ago of Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi triggered a wave of popular protests that spread across the Arab world, forcing out dictators in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. Now, Syrian President Bashar al Assad, too, seems near the end of his rule.

The fire spread so fast that by the time Arab leaders understood what it would consume, it was beyond anyone s control, and in more than one country. The overthrown Tunisian dictator must now regret that his security forces did not arrest Bouazizi and lock him up, rather than allow his public self immolation.

It is important to restore economic activity and create a favorable environment for entrepreneurs, particularly small and medium size businesses, which constitute the main engine of job creation. The recent revolutions, it should be recalled, started with the self immolation of a Tunisian fruit vendor, who was harassed and insulted by the authorities.

This is especially true for those who have lived in Iran, a totally Muslim environment that allows women the freedom to study and work as well as access to adequate healthcare and family planning. Once back in rural Afghanistan, forced into brutal marriages, many desperate women especially returnees from Iran resort to self immolation.

This is especially true for those who have lived in Iran, a totally Muslim environment that allows women the freedom to study and work as well as access to adequate healthcare and family planning. Once back in rural Afghanistan, forced into brutal marriages, many desperate women especially returnees from Iran resort to self immolation.

This underscores the extent to which authorities have to carry out internal repression to perpetuate one party rule and maintain control over the restive ethnic minority homelands that make up more than 60 of China s landmass. But it may also explain why one self immolation in Tunisia helped to kindle the Arab Spring, whereas some three dozen self immolations by Tibetan monks and nuns have failed to ignite a similar popular movement against the Chinese state.