A 27-year-old woman was found dead in what is believed to be a suicide, reportedly due to the pressure of NGO loans taken by her expatriate husband. The body of the woman was recovered on Monday morning.
The incident took place in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia.
A handwritten note was recovered from the scene, in which she asked for forgiveness from her family and stated that no one should be held responsible for her death.
The women was identified as Julia Khatun, 27, wife of Shahed islma alias Zahid of Zhoutola area of Kumarkhali municiplaitry. Zahid is an expatriate to Qatar.
They have a 7-year old daughter.
According to family and local sources, the woman’s husband Zahid had gone to Qatar about six months ago after taking loans of approximately 550,000 taka from various banks and local NGOs. The expectation was that he would earn abroad and repay the debt. However, due to not securing proper employment in Qatar, he was unable to send regular remittances.
As a result, the family struggled to repay the weekly instalments of the loans. Two months of payments reportedly remained overdue, increasing financial pressure on the household. The NGO workers everyday were going to her house and scolded. Relatives said the woman had been under severe mental stress due to continuous pressure from loan repayments and financial instability.
On the morning of the incident, she was found hanging in her room. Her daughter discovered her and begun crying. The dead body was recovered after breaking open the door.
She was later declared dead by a local doctor.
The uncle of the deceased, Razab Ali, said, “There was no shortage in the household. However, her husband went abroad after taking a large amount of loan. But the company did not provide work according to the contract. Unable to bear the pressure of loan installments, Julia committed suicide after writing a note.”
Julia’s father-in-law, Idris Ali, said, “There was no family dispute. There was no quarrel with anyone. The only problem was the loan. We have been repaying it gradually. But this month my son could not send money. The installment was due in the morning, but the incident happened before that.”
Amirul Islam, Officer-In-Charge (OC-Investigation) of Kumarkhali police station stated that the primary assumption points to suicide caused by financial distress. The body was handed over to the family after legal procedures, as no formal complaint was filed.
The incident highlights the growing pressure of microcredit loans and the vulnerability of expatriate-dependent families in rural Bangladesh.