Since the Nowruz holiday ended, the intentional poisoning of female students in schools has continued with even greater intensity, causing hundreds of students to be urgently transferred to hospitals across the country.

Outrage grows over poisoning of girls in Iranian schools

Written by Amineh Qaraee on April 12, 2023. Posted in NEWS

Since the Nowruz holiday ended, the intentional poisoning of female students in schools has continued with even greater intensity, causing hundreds of students to be urgently transferred to hospitals across the country.

According to reports from various state-run news outlets, girls in more than ten schools have experienced chemical attacks resulting in symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, anxiety, shortness of breath, and headaches.

On Saturday, April 8, the Sharq news network reported that some 400 students were poisoned in girls’ schools in Ardabil, and were transferred to the hospital for treatment. Protests were held by the families of the students outside the affected schools. Similar incidents occurred in Hajar School in Haftkel, Sahar Girls’ High School in Ahvaz, Parvin Etesami and Bint Al Huda schools in Divandarreh, Saadi Primary School in Urmia, and Khayyam School for Girls in Pardis.

This is not the first time that chemical attacks on girls’ schools have occurred in Iran. On April 5, several students were poisoned at Alumtak Girls’ School in Qazvin and Salamat Girls’ School in Qom.

Other schools targeted by chemical attacks included Esteghlal School for Girls in Kohenjan, Sarvestan, Zhila Moqbel School in Sanandaj, and Hazrat Mahdi School for Girls in Piranshahr. On April 4, around 50 students were poisoned in one of the schools in Naghadeh, and on April 3, five students were poisoned in Naqadeh.

Despite the severity of the situation, the Iranian government has attempted to cover up, downplay, and justify the attacks. Officials have made conflicting statements about the incidents, with some suggesting that the students themselves are to blame. Hamid Kazemi, the head of the Fact-finding Working Group on students’ poisoning, stated that “Some students are naughty and do mischievous things. School defense mechanisms must be established to prevent such incidents.”

April 9 – Saqqez, western #Iran
Heart-breaking footage of the city's Khomeini Hospital after regime operatives targeted at least six all-girls schools in today's chemical gas attacks. Dozens of students were poisoned.#IranChemicalAttacks pic.twitter.com/cmwOMyrHrI

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 9, 2023

The situation has sparked outrage among Iranians, with many taking to social media to express their concern and anger over the attacks. The hashtag #NoToChemicalAttacks has been trending on Twitter, and a group of Iranian women’s rights activists has issued a statement condemning the attacks and calling on the international community to take action.

These attacks on female students are a clear violation of their right to education and their right to be safe at school. The Iranian government must take immediate action to investigate and bring those responsible to justice. The international community must also speak out against these attacks and demand that the Iranian government take action to protect its female students.

April 11 – Shahin Shahr, central #Iran
Regime operatives launched a chemical gas attack targeting the Tolu High School.
Officials had the gates closed for an hour.
No ambulance came to the school to provide help.#IranChemicalAttacks #SaveIranSchoolGirls pic.twitter.com/Tw2ahonExa

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 11, 2023