Self-immolation

Self-immolation is the act where a person sets themself on fire. It is usually done for political or religious reasons. It is often used as an extreme form of protest or in acts of martyrdom.

The act of "setting oneself on fire, especially as a form of protest" was first recorded in Lady Morgan's France (1817).^[1][2]

Real life examples:

• Buddhist monks have been a staple in the history of self-immolation, the most famous being Thích Quảng Đức.^[3]
• Jan Palach burned himself on the roads of Prague, He did it in protest of the Soviet Union's infiltration of Czechoslovakia in 1968.^[4]
• Sahar Khodayari, an Iranian protester for women's rights in Iran lit herself on fire in front of the court that had sentenced her to prison for sneaking into an all-mens Azadi Stadium in Tehran in 2019.^[5][6]
• Wynn Bruce set himself on fire while protesting for climate change in the plaza of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC.^[7]

1. ↑ The Oxford English Dictionary, 2009, 2nd ed., v. 4.0, Oxford University Press.
2. ↑ immolate Archived 2012-04-28 at the Wayback Machine, Oxford Dictionaries.
3. ↑ "Self Immolation: A brief history of the incomprehensible act". Malibu, CA Patch. 2020-04-10. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
4. ↑ Steinzova, Lucie (January 14, 2019). "Fifty Years After His Self-Immolation, Czech Student Jan Palach Remains A Symbol Of Defiance". RadioFreeEurope RadioLibrary.
5. ↑ Altaher, Nada (2019-09-10). "Iranian woman denied soccer stadium access dies after setting herself on fire". CNN. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
6. ↑ Safi, Michael (2019-09-10). "Iranian female football fan who self-immolated outside court dies". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
7. ↑ "Outside the Supreme Court, a life of purpose and pain ends in flames". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-04-28.