However, those married women who are certain about getting assistance from their parents or share well and owes with their husbands, are comparatively less prone to suicide.

Women, who saw their fathers assaulting their mothers, are also more prone to commit suicide, the study said.

The study was conducted jointly by ICDDR,B and Naripakkho on 2702 married women having reproductive capacity in different cities and villages.

The study was revealed at a dissemination seminar on 'Spousal violence and suicidal ideation among women in Bangladesh' at ICDDR,B auditorium in the city yesterday.

Eleven percent women living in villages and fourteen percent women living in cities seriously thought about committing suicide at least once during their lifetime, the study revealed.

Speaking at the seminar, Dr Ruchira Tabassum Naved, Gender and Reproductive Health Specialist of ICDDR,B, said intense physical and/or mental torture and repression on women by their husbands increase the suicidal ideation among the women.

The study, however, failed to identify any connection between suicidal attempt and sexual violence, Ruchira said, adding, “We also failed to establish any correlation between the level of education, income level of the family, especially of the women, with suicidal ideation.”

Dr Abul Hossain, project implementation officer of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, focused on creating social awareness to address suicidal ideation of women.

He said with the expansion of education at grassroots level, suicidal ideation would go down automatically.