Sulaymaniyah
- Between the cries of those begging to be injected with additional doses to anesthetize her pain and ease her pain, and others begging for an opportunity, even the size of a baby’s smile, to live again, Nikar Muhammad Marf spent nearly a quarter of a century treating burns and women who attempted suicide by setting their bodies on fire and who suffered from harsh social conditions , or those who were victims of psychological and physical abuse, including those who did not reach the stage of puberty yet, or those who were burnt by a perpetrator or accidental accident.
In honor of her years of humanitarian services, which were punctuated by a lot of psychological and spiritual suffering, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) chose her to be among the list of “100 most inspiring and influential women around the world” in 2022.
Nikar, who graduated from the Medical Technical Institute in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in 1992, and who works as the head of the nurses department in the Burns and Plastic Surgery Hospital, supervises 156 employees out of a total of 220 doctors, nurses, and workers in various hospital departments in her city.
The hospital in which she operates provided services to about 17,82 patients and patients in 2022, the majority of whom were between 16 and 49 years old.
Nikar Muhammad with a doctor specializing in burns inside the hospital's emergency room (Al-Jazeera)
In the hospital hall, "Al-Jazeera Net" met the Iraqi nurse, Nikar, while she was working in treating patients, and had the following dialogue with her:
How did you face the difficulties of your work in order to achieve your humanitarian goal in the medical profession?
From the first moment of practicing my profession, I set my sights on the human goal, but achieving it faced many complications because it collided with many psychological problems on a personal level.
With every difficulty, I grow more determined and determined to treat women whose bodies have been set on fire, or who have been subjected to burns for various reasons.
I was able, along with my other colleagues, to contribute to changing the convictions of many patients, especially from the female element, until they became positive people in their societies after they were at the peak of psychological, intellectual and physical collapse, and some of them were contemplating suicide after suffering physical deformities due to burns.
Are there any tough stories or cases that are still engraved in your memory?
There is a story that happened at the end of the nineties of the last century of an 18-year-old young woman who set her body on fire, refusing the pressure of her family to marry her off to her cousin. She stayed for a long time receiving treatment in the hospital, and her family visited her very little, which increased her suffering and psychological pain, so she tried to commit suicide. back in the hospital during the treatment phase.
I saw her with my own eyes how she wrapped her coat around her neck and how her face turned blue, but God made it easy for me and I was able to save her in the last moments, and then she entered the stage of psychological treatment and recovered completely, and she returned to her family.
As for the worst case, it was of a woman who quarreled with her husband, poured oil on her body and threatened to burn herself, so the husband stood smiling in front of her and gave her a lighter to complete her act.
Indeed, she burned herself, so he quickly filmed his wife's ignition with a video clip, and he made no attempt to extinguish her until she arrived at the hospital as a skeleton, the fire consuming all of her body's flesh.
Unfortunately, she later passed away from severe injuries, while the police took legal measures against the husband.
Nikar Muhammad Marv inside the emergency room while preparing treatment for a patient (Al-Jazeera)
How were you selected in the list of the 100 most influential women around the world, and how do you feel as the first Iraqi in the list?
The joy of being chosen on this list was very great.
I was nominated by a journalist who visited the hospital previously to conduct an investigation on the cases of women who attempted suicide by setting fire to their bodies, and he was greatly affected by my attempts and my role in treating them and helping them to reintegrate them into society.
Why do some women resort to get rid of their suffering?
Women love life and are attached to it, but there are those who resort to burning themselves to escape the difficult circumstances and great psychological pressures they are going through, thinking that they are burning their pain and suffering and not their body.
Medicine treats the burning of the body, but what treats the burning of the soul?
Burn treatment is very easy, and it can be within days or a very short period, but the most difficult stage occurs due to the deformities that affect the patient even after his recovery, and the matter is more difficult for women, especially after she stands in front of the mirror and sees herself how she has become.
There are women who have completely recovered from their burns, but have psychological disorders due to the deformities, and have attempted suicide again.
Thus, the torment of the soul is harsher and more severe than the torment of the body, because the wound of the soul remains in the memory, and it may generate a negative and harsh atmosphere in the imagination of the person, which enters him through a very difficult psychological stage, which may push him to commit suicide.
Therefore, I believe that it is necessary for anyone who has suffered burns to enter the stage of psychological treatment after recovery, because it works to empty all negative energies, especially for women who only want to listen to them and help them pass the turmoil and suffering.
What does healing a burnt person, specifically women, mean to you?
Healing any patient for me is like a new birth for him, which instills in me a spirit of determination, continuity, and resistance in this difficult profession full of hardships and pains.
Nikar Muhammad with a specialist doctor during the treatment of a woman who suffered burns in her hands and other parts of her body (Al-Jazeera)
What is your comment on the increase in self-immolation among women in Kurdistan in particular and Iraq in general, and what do you suggest to deal with it?
The causes of suicide among women, which witnessed a huge boom during the 1990s, were limited to social and family problems and pressures only.
But today, other problems have been added to it due to social networking sites and technological openness.. and other reasons.
Therefore, the family must work to increase the confidence of its children from an early age, and that they are able to overcome difficulties in order to increase their awareness.
Here, the media plays an important role by hosting those who have had a new life after attempting suicide, to talk about their experiences and suffering with this phenomenon, with special programs that educate the new generation and not destroy its foundations and personality.
Does the level of education and study have a role in the increase or decrease in the suicide rate among women?
It is self-evident that the level of education and study contributes to reducing suicides among women. The more educated and cultured a woman is, the farther away she will be from negative thoughts, including suicide.
The evidence is that the suicide rate among educated women is much lower than that of the uneducated, but this does not mean that suicides do not occur among women with higher degrees and in important socially prestigious positions and jobs.