The rate of suicide in Jordan has nearly doubled in the past three years.

According to official figures there has been an 87 per cent increase in deaths by suicide in the last two years.

This figure may be even higher as cultural norms and the fact that suicide is forbidden in Islam, cause many families to hide the real cause of death.

Rising unemployment, an increasing gap between the rich and the poor and the social stigma of psychological disorder are said to be behind this issue.

But Jordanian authorities refuse to admit that the situation has reached crisis point and this troubles social researchers who believe suicide has long been a neglected area of study.

The country's health officials say it's an alarming trend that can't be ignored any longer.

Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh reports from Jordan.