OK, so the title really isn't funny but I wanted to make sure people took a look at a really serious situation: The Afghan government is expressing concern over the growing number of women in Herat Province who have killed themselves through self- immolation. Suraya Sobah Rang, Afghanistan's deputy women's affairs minister, says forced marriages and a continued lack of access to education is contributing to the growing despair among Herat's women. Prague, 1 March 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Gurcharan Virdee is no stranger to the hardships facing women around the world. Virdee works with Medica Mondiale, a German-based international organization supporting women in war and crisis situations. "Before she committed suicide, my sister always said she hoped she would never return to Afghanistan and experience the closed atmosphere of Herat."The group is currently working on a program to provide shelter to women living in the western Afghan province of Herat -- an area where Taliban-era repressions are still very much in place. There, Virdee met several women who had attempted to kill themselves through self-immolation. The most tragic case, Virdee says, involved a young pregnant woman who survived despite suffering severe burns over 60 percent of her body. more: http://www.rawa.org/immolation2.htm