Schoolgirl Poisonings: Iran Ex-Minister Denounces Authorities’ "Indifference"

Iranian former education minister Mohammad Bathaei has apologized for the officials’ “indifference and carelessness” toward a wave of poisonings at Iranian girls' schools, while many social media users criticized the security forces for brutally cracking down on the angry families of those affected.

Over the past three months, hundreds of school students across Iran, mostly girls, have been treated for poisoning symptoms, including nausea, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties, and heart palpitations.

Human rights groups said students in at least 26 schools were affected on March 1 alone, as videos emerged on social media showing security forces suppressing protesting families.

While political figures and activists have described the incidents as "chemical" and "biological" attacks, officials have only recently admitted there may be a problem.

This week, President Ebrahim Raisi said the Interior Ministry should probe the incidents, with help from the health and intelligence ministries, and quickly release the results to the public.

In an interview with Shargh newspaper on March 2, Bathaei said he "cannot understand why the government and the Ministry of Education are showing such cold-heartedness toward the repeated incidents of student poisoning."

"As a former teacher within the education system, I apologize to the public for the officials' lack of concern, indifference, and carelessness regarding this issue," he added.

“Education is a Human Right”

The officials’ passivity in the face of the problem has prompted some to accuse the government of purposely poisoning school children as retaliation for students and women leading anti-government protests sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of morality police.

There have also been speculations that Shia fundamentalists may have been involved in the incidents in a bid to prevent girls from attending school.

UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, said the incidents “could negatively impact the high education coverage among children, especially girls, achieved over the past decades” and that it remains “ready to provide any needed support."

Amnesty International said that the “gas attacks in girls' schools in Iran raise grave concerns about increasing gender-based violence against women and girls for bravely standing up for their rights.”

“Education is a human right,” the London-based human rights watchdog added.

It all started in late November in the city of Qom, south of Tehran, when dozens of schoolgirls fell ill and had to be transported to a hospital. Most were discharged shortly afterward, but several had to be kept for observation for several days.

Similar poisonings have since occurred in multiple cities across the country.

So far, no arrest has been announced in relation to the poisonings, which have sparked outrage among the families of the affected students. Some angry parents have refused to send their children to school.

The Security Forces' "Shameful and Brutal" Behavior

During a March 1 rally in front of a girls' school in Tehran, the parents of students were subjected to severe beatings by security forces and plainclothes officers, sparking widespread condemnation on social media.

One video shared online shows security agents grabbing a woman from behind and pulling her hair, while another agent is seen holding her mouth.

Lawyer and Tehran University professor Mohsen Borhani took to Twitter to criticize the officers for not showing empathy for the screaming mother.

Sociologist Mohammad Fazli called their behavior "shameful and brutal."