A recent spate of mass illnesses at girls’ schools in Iran was caused by deliberate poisoning using “chemical compounds,” a senior Iranian health official told the semi-official Fars news agency. Younes Panahi, the deputy health minister, told reporters on Sunday that “certain individuals sought the closure of all schools, especially girls’ schools,” Fars reported. Panahi didn’t give any more details. The poisonings have led to dozens of girls being hospitalised for treatment. The poisonings come months after widespread protests against Iran’s Islamist leadership erupted over the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The authorities responded with deadly force and four protesters have been executed. Thousands of people remain in prison for taking part in demonstrations and rights groups say more than 500 people have been killed by security forces. The attacks have all targeted girls’ schools and were first reported in November at a secondary school in the theological city of Qom. At least 14 schools have been targeted across four cities, including the northwestern city of Ardebil, the capital of Tehran and the western city of Boroujerd, according to the newspaper, Etemad. Videos shared by state news agencies and activists on social media earlier this month have shown angry parents confronting education officials and teachers demanding a response to the incidents. Amini went into a coma shortly after being arrested for allegedly violating strict Islamic dress codes that apply to women. The subsequent protests, which were initially led by women and young people, broadened into a nationwide rebuke against the ruling religious system. Qom, where the first poisoning was reported is about 160 km south of Tehran. It’s a deeply conservative and religious city that’s home to Iran’s clergy and theological seminaries where most of the country’s leaders and presidents have studied. The poisonings also come at a time when the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan continue to keep schools and universities closed to girls and women, effectively banning them from education.
