Malawian culture of silence fuelling suicides

Of late, cases of suicide in Malawi have been the talk of town. A few weeks ago, a man attempted to commit suicide on his wedding day. Some days back, a doctor in Mulanje committed suicide after posting a farewell messages on the social media after his wife’s infidelity.

Traditional leaders, psychologists and police all admit that the culture of silence prevalent in Malawian society hinder people suffering from trauma from approaching other people to share their problems with and end up resorting to suicide.

Paramount Chief Lundu says despite setting a local support unit where people are encouraged to go to and report their cases, only a few of his subjects have taken the trouble to call in and talk to the chief when they have problems.

“The problem is people are too secretive, they feel like whatever happens in their lives is secret and they can’t share it elsewhere no matter the circumstances. In the end, they fall victims of death because they have no one to turn to,” says Lundu.

Lundu said the victim support unit has been in existence for three years, but still people do not come in large numbers to explain their problems and instead they end up committing suicide when they feel the problems have gone beyond reach.

Aside the traditional leaders, Malawi also has police stations that also have introduced victim support units. These are places where people who are experiencing various problems can report to.

“We have campaigns that sensitise people to how and where to take their problems at personal or household levels. However, people still do not come in large numbers, it’s a pity that people still commit suicide yet  there is more than one place they can go to when they are troubled,” said Limbe Police station deputy PRO Pedzisai Zembeneko.

Malawi also has psychiatrists and psychologists who deal with issues on mental trauma.

Unlike in Malawi, people in most countries make use of such people and look up to them as a relief when they feel the need to.

According to Zomba Mental Hospital psychiatrist Chitsanzo Mafuta, every year, one million people globally die from suicide, a global mortality of 16 per100 000, or one death every 40 seconds. It also exposed that most suicide cases happen among married people.

In an interview with Chill, Mafuta says after the research, a conclusion was found that the cultural set-up in Malawi is another contributing factor to some of the cases of suicide in the country.

“It is our tradition that when one is greeted, the response is generally, ‘I am fine’. Even if one is not fine, the response is still ‘I am fine’. The fact is Malawians are not open to each other. What people do not understand is that a problem shared is half-solved and failure to do so is what leads to attempted suicide or suicide because we don’t have anyone to tell our problems to,” explained Mafuta.

“Facing the reality, Malawians are very reserved people. It is our tradition that we should be reserved. Even at bridal showers, women are advised to be selective with the issues they talk with their neighbours. They are advised not to disclose to outsiders when they are having problems in their homes,” he said.

Mafuta added that even during engagements and weddings, songs urging the newly-weds to preserve in whatever comes their way are sung on their big day.

“This is a clear indication that it is really a tradition in Malawi that family and personal problems should be kept to oneself. However, the issue is that sometimes the problems become unbearable and when the worse comes to worse, we see married couples committing suicide.

Psychologist Chioza Banddwe says it is time law makers and enforcers revisit the laws to better understand why people resort to suicide.

He said government should sensitise families and teachers to signs that people show which lead to such thoughts.

“People have a mentality that sharing a problem to others is a weakness but it is not. People should be open and talk more on the issues that are troubling and killing them inside,” urged Bandawe.