Fire-related incidents are behind maximum deaths among young women in India, says a study to be published in the international medical journal The Lancet.
According to the study, death due to burns is not only behind most deaths among women between 15 and 34 years of age, the number is six times higher than the official national statistics in India, compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The study estimates over 1.63 lakh annual fire deaths in India, 2 per cent of all deaths in the country. Of these, 1.06 lakh occur among young women; the ratio as compared to young men being 3:1. This age-sex pattern is consistent across multiple local studies.
These incidents have much in common, including the fact that most involve kitchen accidents, self-immolation, or various forms of domestic violence. “Other studies have indicated that among young adult women these deaths are a combination of kitchen accidents, and suicides and homicides related with domestic violence, which could include dowry-related harassment that leads to death,” Prachi Sanghavi, co-author of the study, told The Indian Express from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Geeta Gupta, Indian Express, Mar 02, 2009
