Police in Rumbek East County of Lakes State confirmed that a pregnant woman identified as Abok Majur Bech took her own life in Cueigakteng Payam on Sunday morning.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, the deputy commissioner of police in Rumbek East County, Brigadier Makur Dak, said investigations had commenced into the death of the deceased whose husband also died recently.
"According to the investigation from close relatives, it is said that the wife had always been complaining that her late husband who was recently killed in a road ambush while rescuing raided cattle from neighboring Yirol West County used to appear to her in dreams at night when she was sleeping. That might be the reason she hanged herself to death,” Brig. Dak said.
The police chief said the couple left behind two children who are now in the custody of their grandparents.
The Paramount Chief in Cueigakteng Payam, Sultan Gor Makuac Kerthith, said it is unfortunate to hear another fatal incident soon after a teenage girl killed herself by hanging in the same village last month.
He said the deceased did not leave behind a suicide note but that the police are carrying out investigations into the matter.
The Women Aid Vision (WAV) field coordinator, Mary Mathon, said the cause of the suicide might be related to some underlining conditions which need investigations.
"We now have a project for sensitization and awareness-raising in the community. We are in the process of working to identify the center for our counselors and we hope they will be counseling women to cease these horrific incidents in Rumbek East County," Mathon said.
The chairperson of Cipuou-mat, a women's community-based organization in Lakes State, Nyanagar Jima, said she was very shocked to hear that a pregnant woman had committed suicide on Sunday just ahead of International Women’s Day.
"My message is simple. I need women to cease hanging themselves over simple issues. If you have a problem, tell your colleague or a friend and discuss it as a group and find a solution to it instead of taking away your own life," Nyanagar advised.
She also urged the parents to cease blaming women when their husbands die.
“There is some situation where parents blame a wife for bringing bad luck to a home or calling them witches who bring death to a family. This thing culturally needs to be stopped in the community," Nyanagar said.