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Social Injustice Fuels Self-Immolation Protests
Self-immolation has a long history of being used as a political tool around the world. The act is one of desperation, with incidents in Asia, Eastern Europe, North Africa and the United States. Some of these images may be disturbing.
![Afghan patient Parwin, 23, a mother of three children and pregnant for three months receives medical treatment at the burn unit of Isteqlal hospital, after she committed self immolation, in Kabul. Parwin covered herself in kerosene before setting fire to](https://gdb.voanews.com/EBDA075A-929A-47D0-B46A-7DA7386E0C50_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Afghan patient Parwin, 23, a mother of three children and pregnant for three months receives medical treatment at the burn unit of Isteqlal hospital, after she committed self immolation, in Kabul. Parwin covered herself in kerosene before setting fire to
![An exile Tibetan holds a portrait of Tsewang Norbu, 29, a Buddhist monk who died Monday after setting himself on fire in China's Sichuan province's Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture during a candle light vigil in Dharmsala, India, August 15, 2011. (AP)](https://gdb.voanews.com/4FE722A4-F32B-4642-A181-E43FFCFDD0A2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An exile Tibetan holds a portrait of Tsewang Norbu, 29, a Buddhist monk who died Monday after setting himself on fire in China's Sichuan province's Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture during a candle light vigil in Dharmsala, India, August 15, 2011. (AP)
![Tibetans display portraits of people who killed themselves in self-immolation, during a protest in front of the Liberty Square in Taipei on October 19, 2011. (AFP)](https://gdb.voanews.com/2C430406-3B41-4E16-840C-40C9928FA11E_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Tibetans display portraits of people who killed themselves in self-immolation, during a protest in front of the Liberty Square in Taipei on October 19, 2011. (AFP)
![A woman throws a white scarf over Tibetan Buddhist nun Palden Choetso as she burns on the street in Daofu, or Tawu in Tibetan, in this still image taken from video. The 35-year-old Tibetan Buddhist nun burned herself to death on the public street in the](https://gdb.voanews.com/69CE4C6A-76C3-47C2-BDF0-B3246E99DA52_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman throws a white scarf over Tibetan Buddhist nun Palden Choetso as she burns on the street in Daofu, or Tawu in Tibetan, in this still image taken from video. The 35-year-old Tibetan Buddhist nun burned herself to death on the public street in the