Going off the edge

Published by The Bangla Tribune | July 26, 2018. (Link Here)

What does the law have to say about suicide?

At the age of 19, Fahim decided to take his own life.Though my father has always hated the concept of modelling, it has been my life’s dream to be a model. I come from a middle-class family, where kids go to school and their parents are office-goers. I don’t like going to school, and am struggling to build my career as a model. My mother has passed away, and my dad is an alcoholic.

Looking up at the house where I live, it feels like it’s waiting to pull me into its eternal hell. My father knocked my clothes off from the wardrobe. Sighing, I picked up what remained clean after he stepped on them.I held back my tears, for it only showed weakness. My father slammed my door, locking it from the outside. This is the story of my everyday life. I don’t want to go to school, but my father wants me to achieve high academic success. I smiled weakly at a picture of my mother — long black hair and large black eyes, holding a smiling little boy, me.

I pulled out a sharp blade, but I knew it wouldn’t do the job. I searched around my room. I needed something more — something to relieve me from this unbearable suffering. “Fahim! Open this door!” my father yelled.I’m tired of the pain, I can’t take it any longer. My father had never understood me, since my mother died when I was 10. I’ve never had a single friend because I am an introvert. This is my goodbye. Staring down at the bottle of poison in my hands, I could hardly hear his voice while my father continued to yell. I drank the liquid in the bottle. I was finally at peace. Suicide legislations

Suicide is defined as death caused by self-injuring behaviour with an intention to die as a result. Suicide attempts, on the other hand, are non-fatal, self-inflicted, potentially injurious, intention to die as a result of such behaviour. A suicide attempt may or may not result in injury or death. While a person who has committed suicide, he is beyond the reach of the law, but it’s a punishable offense if his attempt fails. Abetment of suicide Penal Code of Bangladesh 306 states that if any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term, which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Attempt to commit suicide Section 309 states that whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offense, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both. The story of “Fahim” — a rising model in Bangladesh, who was struggling to build up a career — shows us that his family failed to help him through his depression, which led him to take his own life. He was severely depressed and frustrated at the lack of interaction in his family and social life. Life is made up of struggles and achievements. But a person must always remember that they are valuable, that their life is precious, and someone out there is thankful because of their existence in their lives.

Miti Sanjana is a Barrister-at-law from Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, an Advocate of Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and an activist.