Headline October 15, 2016/ ''' *STUDENTS* & SOCIETIES '''

''' *STUDENTS* & SOCIETIES '''

*MANY, MANY QUESTIONS ARISE*  -what pushes these tender and great students right over the edge?  Life is just so precious.  

So stuck between a  rock    -and a terribly hard place, writes one researcher,   -do students at campuses have anyone to turn to for help?

*A PhD scholar and faculty*    -in a private university in Karachi,  Dua shared her teenage suicide attempt in the following words:

''At the age of 13 , I struggled with my studies.I used to be an average student with a low self-esteem.

My father always compared me with the  high-achiever children of his friend. One day I failed a math test and hid my result from my parents. However, during a  parent-teacher  meeting they learned about it and really got mad at me.

I was so upset that I took some pills to die. Apparently, the pills were not harmful so I didn't end up in the hospital and overslept only..........''    

A LARGE MAJORITY of victims apparently attempt suicide on issues related to domestic affairs, academic challenges, and financial crunch.

*Youth of this age handle multiple  pressures, cut-throat competition and unrealistic parental and social expectations,* says  Dr. Uzma Umbreen, a renowned psychiatrist and-  medical director of Karachi based  Recovery House.

''Most youngsters are just pushed into the  rat race   of grades and prominence irrespective of their aptitude and capacity.

Patience, stress management and problem solving required for handling such challenges of life and simply missing at this tender age especially in the absence of supportive family friends and mentors.''

The details of each case might be somewhat different. However, most suicide attempts resolve around  fear,  hopelessness and unrealistic expectations related to academic and professional success, social acceptance and relationships.

What is disturbing is the growing involvement of juveniles in such cases. In February 2016,  for example:

Two disturbing incidents were reported where  14-year old   Salman  in Peshawar and  16-year-olds  Navroz and Fatima, in Karachi shot themselves when their parents refused to accept their childhood affairs.

The second incident specifically raised several questions about society's deteriorating value-system, in which a 10th  grade student killed his girl friend and himself in school.

Apparently inspired by recent  Bollywood movies, the victims left a suicide note requesting for adjacent graves like filmy loves.

Dr. Anusha, a clinical psychologist based in  Kerala,  South India   *[with the highest literacy and suicide rate]*  said:

''Our children are living under immense pressure to deliver, succeed, live their parents dreams and make them proud.''

Dr. Nosheen Shahzad, and educational psychologist and director of Karachi's  Neuro-Psychology  Center  identifies three dimension of suicidal thoughts-

Including personality type, parents-child relationship and environment having many factors such as peer pressure, need for social acceptance, companionship and sense of purpose]. 

The disturbing fact is that student Dua attempted suicide due to immense parental pressure but they remained unaware of her agony for long. 

She did not go for any therapy; however, her mother has been her biggest supporter throughout her teenage year.

''As I grew up, I have made peace with the fact that no matter what I do, I can't please my father. I am grateful that I survived and came out of this miserable state,'' she added.

Ideally, education should make the younger generation mentally stronger, enabling them to develop coping strategies  for facing the challenges of life.

On the contrary, our existing  knowledge-based  education system and isolated family-set-up somehow fail to mature the survival skills in our youth.

While a few, such as  Dua, survive until we have a public conversation on how better to support our youth emotionally, it's only matter of time till another story similar to  student Waseemullah's or  Saqiba's   hits the headlines. 

So,  at the  World Students Society,  trying to get individual students to appreciate and hold on,  and to preserve  -what they have till real help arrives, will be the biggest challenge of all. 

With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers of the World. See Ya all on  !WOW!  -the World Students Society and  Twitter-!E-WOW! -the Ecosystem 2011:

''' Keeping Watch '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless