The curse of Insanity ( Afghanistan- Pakistan)

Abandoned, chained, forgotten... Mental patients in Pakistan and Afghanistan face a lack of resources to take care of them. There is ignorance and stigma in regard to these mental disorders, while mental health care facilities available for their use are very sparse. Many rural residents still require sending patients to shrines, where they may be chained, neglected, and poorly looked after. Shrines offer a draconian approach to mental illness. They offer them ancient rituals for healing mental patients to take out evil spirits. According to local beliefs, mental illness is labeled as being possessed by an evil spirit known as "Jinn". It's assumed that the ones who could break the chains would be the only ones who could be healed in the shrine. Mental patients live between the divine and the cursed. Afghanistan. War has a catastrophic effect on health. Death as a result of war is simply the "tip of the iceberg". More than three decades of conflict have led to widespread human suffering and population displacement in Afghanistan. The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm as well as drug addictions. Pakistan. While mental health treatment in Pakistan has improved in cities, there are still not enough resources to take care of it. There are no exact numbers for the mentally ill in Pakistan, due largely to the associated stigma. In the past, the government of Pakistan has attempted to make progress in the area of mental health by introducing the Mental Health Ordinance on February 20, 2001. When this ordinance came into effect, the Lunacy Act of 1912, enacted by the colonial government, was consequently repealed. However, the situation is still far from satisfactory since psychiatric departments tend to be understaffed and lack basic facilities. Chance has been slow.