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Iranian Teachers in Special Care after More Schools Targeted by Chemical Attacks

April 24, 2023
1 min read
Iranian Teachers in Special Care after More Schools Targeted by Chemical Attacks

An unknown number of Iranian students and teachers were taken to medical centers for treatment on April 24 after multiple girls’ schools were targeted by chemical attacks.

The attacks were reported in at least three provinces: Kurdistan, Hamadan and Alborz. 

According to reports, two teachers from a school in Karaj, near Tehran, were hospitalized at the special care unit.

More than 20 pupils in the north-western city of Sanandaj were also taken to hospital, according to Hengaw, a Norway-based group that monitors rights violations in Iran's Kurdish regions.

Since November 2022, more than 13,000 Iranian students have suffered symptoms including nausea, fainting, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties and heart palpitations, with many requiring treatments in hospital.

The poisonings have sparked fear and anger among schoolgirls, their parents and wider Iranian society.

The attacks prompted calls for increased security measures at schools across the country, with several principals reportedly asking parents to keep their children at home.

On April 24, the Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Unions proposed the formation of "independent and popular school protection committees as soon as possible" to address the "continuous chemical attacks, primarily on girls' schools."

After the authorities announced arrests over the poisonings last month, UN experts criticized the Islamic Republic for failing to protect the schoolgirls, prevent further attacks and conduct swift investigations.

The experts said the attacks might be “orchestrated to punish girls” for their involvement in nationwide protests sparked by the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

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