Since November 2022 more than 1000 girls, mostly aged around ten, have been poisoned in 91 schools across eight cities in Iran, including 800 in Qom and 400 in Borujerd.
Reported symptoms have included nausea, headaches, difficulty breathing, heart palpitations, fatigue, and dizziness; students have also reported smelling a scent of mandarin or rotten fish before falling ill. There have been no fatalities but the schoolgirls have been hospitalised. Investigators found traces of nitrogen-based toxic gas in the schools. Although the Iranian government has denied any responsibility, women’s rights activists have speculated that religious extremists opposed to the education of girls were responsible for the attacks, with tacit support from the state.
These attacks have provoked anger and concern among parents, who have engaged in demonstrations, demanding that greater attention be given to the security of their children. At least 100 people demonstrated in Qom on 14 February in front of the governor’s office, chanting slogans such as “you are obliged to ensure the safety of my children! I have two daughters” and “this is a war!”. Social media has been flooded with videos of parents and students expressing their anger and frustration.
These attacks have also highlighted the ongoing repression of women in Iran. The mandatory wearing of the veil and restrictions imposed on women have long been a controversial topic in Iran. The death of high school student Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022, after having been arrested for “improperly” wearing her hijab, triggered massive demonstrations across the country. Since then, Iranians have increasingly protested against these restrictions; there has been a surge of videos on social media of students symbolically taking off their scarves.
Despite ongoing investigations, the culprits have not yet been identified. Iranian authorities have claimed that the chemicals used in the attacks were not of military grade and were accessible to the public. Iranian human rights activists have, however, suggested that the state is behind what they see as an act of ‘biological terrorism’. Some view the attacks as an extremist response to the role of women in massive anti-government protests, raising concerns about the safety of women in Iran.
ACHRS stance
These chemical attacks in schools exemplify the persistent problems of the repression of women in Iran and the safety of children in schools. While ongoing investigations should determine where the responsibility for the attacks lie, Iranians continue to express their frustration with the wider restrictions imposed on women in the country that these attacks signify.
The United Nations Special Rapporteurs (UNSRs) have expressed outrage at targeted chemical attacks against girls’ schools in Iran.
The UNSRs are also concerned about the arrest of a journalist who was covering the attacks, the violence against a mother demanding information, and the continued imprisonment of female journalists and human rights defenders who reported on the death of Mahsa Amini.
ACHRS joins the UNSRs in calling for immediate investigations into the attacks and is concerned about the Iranian government’s failure to protect these schoolgirls, prevent further attacks, and conduct swift investigations.
The UNSRs and ACHRS are demanding action to ensure the protection and fundamental rights of women and girls in Iran.
