Women victims of self-immolation: a ‘Grounded Theory’ study in Iran

This study aims to examine the sociological aspects of the phenomenon of women self-immolation in Lorestan, Iran. The methodology of ‘Grounded Theory’ was used to analyze data gathered from 11 women who had attempted self-immolation. Data analysis yielded ten categories including patriarchy, divorce as a stigma, family maladjustment, economic frustration, access to fire, prevalence of self-immolation, self-immolation for emancipation, self-immolation as a threat, reorganization of social relations, and remorsefulness. Generally, in societies where patriarchy is dominant, divorce is considered a stigma, and life style pattern is pastoral or rural, when family maladjustment and economic frustration emerge as well, the occurrence of the phenomenon of women self-immolation becomes more likely.