GENDER, TECHNOLOGY, AND CULTURAL TRANSITION: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF SUICIDE PERCEPTIONS IN GUPIS VALLEY, GILGIT-BALTISTAN

Abstract

This research explores the understanding of suicide by local residents of 40 people (20 men and 20 women) in Gupis Valley, the District of Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. This study, which was conducted in March 2020, applies the qualitative research approach, which involves in-depth interviews, the focus group discussion, and the case studies to examine the role of gender discrimination, technological change and intergenerational conflict in suicidal behavior in this mountainous area. The results indicate that the number of females committing suicide is more than that of males in this area and defies the global trends but conforms to the cultural scripts theory by Canetto and Lester (1998) and the female fatalistic suicide defined by Durkheim (1897). It reveals three main themes: (1) gender discrimination and lack of autonomy in making decisions by women, which results in the state of over social regulation; (2) technological crisis that brings about moral panic and family conflict, indicative of anomic conditions in the epoch of rapid social change; and (3) conflict between the collectivist family structure and individual desires among educated young people. There are five case studies that show how suicidal crises are occasioned by love marriages, educational pressure and domestic violence. The study helps in the comprehension of suicide on low to middle income countries where 79% of all suicides in the world are found (WHO, 2014). The suggested interventions are culturally tailored parent counseling interventions, gender sensitization campaigns and technology education to eliminate the generation value disparities and not limit them. In this study, 20 sources that are confirmed to be published between 1897 and 2024 were searched between March 20 and 23, 2026.