Modernity and Suicide among Iran's Lak Girls and Women

In this article, we benefit from a set of qualitative methodologies, including observations and interviews, to analyze suicide among Lak girls and women from the perspective of modernity. Our results indicate that rapid modernization in an erstwhile isolated and traditional area has changed the process of socialization for the new generation based on modern beliefs. As girls grow up, they have difficulty reconciling their modern learning with the beliefs of the previous generation who see themselves as guardians of traditions. Against the background of these conflicting relations as well as female powerlessness vis-à-vis traditional mores, some girls and women are pushed to committing suicide when encountering life crises.