Fears of ‘Poisoning’ Attacks Haunt Schools in Iran amid Hijab Controversy

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi presents a report during a meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior officials in Tehran (Khamenei’s website)

Fears of chemical attacks targeting female students resurfaced in Iran as schools resumed after a three-week Nowruz holiday. Iranian parliament and top religious figures are pressuring the government to enforce hijab laws following a rebellion by Iranian women against wearing headscarves.

Twenty female students were transported to the hospital after experiencing respiratory symptoms and shortness of breath, reported state-run ISNA news agency. The cause of the symptoms was not specified.

As per the agency's report, emergency responders rushed ambulances to a school located in the town of Baghmishah in the northwestern city of Tabriz, transporting 20 fifteen-year-old female students to a hospital.

“Emergency experts were immediately dispatched to the scene after a report that a number of students from one of the girls high schools in Tabriz were in a bad condition,” Asghar Jafari, head of the city’s emergency service, told the IRNA news agency.

In a wave of cases since late November, thousands of students across dozens of schools have suffered fainting, nausea, shortness of breath and other symptoms after reporting “unpleasant” odors, with some needing hospital treatment.

The poisonings started two months into the protests that gripped Iran following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested over an alleged violation of women’s dress rules.

Initially, some officials pointed fingers at extremist groups opposing girls' education. However, later, government officials accused external parties and claimed they were also behind the protests.

A member of the parliamentary investigation committee, Mohammad Hassan Asafari, stated last month that since the end of last November, “over 5,000 female students” in “around 230 schools” across 25 out of the country's 31 provinces were affected by the incident.

The most recent poisoning cases are taking place amid mounting controversy surrounding the hijab in Iran.

The controversy over the hijab has resurfaced in recent days, as an increasing number of Iranian women are refusing to wear the compulsory head covering.