We are deeply saddened and shocked that at least 224 students died by suicide in the first eight months of 2026. Among them was a 17-year-old girl who ingested poison at home. She survived for five hours but eventually died as her father refused to seek help, believing that police involvement would damage the family’s reputation. Her untimely death is the result of social stigma and a law that criminalises suicide attempts.
Aachol Foundation, a youth-led organisation working on mental health and wellbeing, has been documenting the escalating crisis. In 2025, it recorded 403 student deaths by suicide; nearly half of them were schoolgoers, of whom 60 percent were girls. In 2024, the figure was 310, while in 2023 it was 513. Experts cite reasons such as depression, family conflict, cyberbullying, academic pressure, financial stress, substance use, loneliness, and gender-based violence. But beneath each cause lies a common thread of social stigma. Mental illness is dismissed as being “pagol” or “dramatic,” shrouded in shame, secrecy and sometimes ridicule. Families choose reputation over treatment, and communities prefer to ostracise rather than support.
This culture of shame and silence is further reinforced by law. Suicide is not a criminal act, yet Section 309 of the Penal Code of 1860, a colonial-era law, frames it as such, permitting up to one year’s imprisonment for attempted suicide. Bangladesh remains among the world’s last 25 countries to maintain this statute. Mental health professionals assert that criminalisation drives desperate people further underground.
The government must intervene by decriminalising attempted suicide outright. Experts also call for the establishment of a national suicide surveillance system combining death registration with hospital and community data. It should fund multisectoral prevention programmes linking university prevention cells, teacher training, and life-skills education into a coordinated response.
We are encouraged that State Minister for Health and Family Welfare MA Muhit has recognised that criminalisation creates problems and reinforces stigma. A new National Suicide Prevention Strategy for 2026–2030 is being drafted. But only government intervention will never be enough. The state cannot counsel every child in crisis or rewire a family’s shame reflex. That responsibility falls to parents, teachers, friends, and communities who need to listen instead of dismissing and recognise behavioural change before it becomes fatal. We must also work to understand the social conditions that are driving so many young people to take such drastic actions. Decriminalisation may be the legal barrier around suicide prevention. But it is we who must build nurturing spaces where young people can survive.
