Iranian Schoolgirls Poisoned by Toxic Gas; Conspiracy Against Female Education Suspected

Iranian schoolgirls are getting poisoned by toxic gases mysteriously. On Sunday Iranian authorities accepted that such cases had occurred in at least 50 schools in the country. Almost 700 girls have been poisoned by toxic gas in Iran since November, reported BBC. Many suspect that it may be a deliberate attempt to force the schools of these girls to shut down.

No girls have died because of this toxic gas poisoning in Iran. But the girls have suffered respiratory problems, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue.

It is not clear who or what is responsible for such incidents. Reports now suggest schools across 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces have seen suspected cases.

The attacks have raised fears that other girls could be poisoned, apparently just for going to school. Education for girls has never been challenged in more than 40 years since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has asked the Taliban government in Afghanistan to allow girls and women to return to school and universities.

Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Saturday said that investigators recovered “suspicious samples” in the course of their investigations into the incidents, stated IRNA news agency.

Iran President Ebrahim Raisi described the alleged attacks as a “crime against humanity for creating anxiety among students and parents”, reported AP.

According to the media, the girls reported a pungent smell of rotten tangerines, chlorine, or cleaning agents, and then suffered from headaches, dizziness, respiratory problems, and nausea. Some of them even experienced temporary paralysis of their limbs.