Iran girls being 'poisoned' to stop them from going to school: Reports

Since late November, hundreds of cases of respiratory poisoning have been reported among schoolgirls mainly in Qom, south of Tehran, with some needing hospital treatment.

Iran’s deputy education minister Younes Panahi on Sunday claimed that "some people" were poisoning schoolgirls in the holy city of Qom with the aim of shutting down education for girls. “It was found that some people wanted all schools, especially girls' schools, to be closed,” Panahi told a local news channel.

The poisonings come as Iran has been rocked by protests since the December 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini for an alleged violation of country's strict dress code for women.

Reportedly, since late November, hundreds of cases of respiratory poisoning have been reported among schoolgirls mainly in Qom, south of Tehran, prompting parents to seek an explanation from the authorities.

On February 14, parents of students who had been ill had gathered outside the city's governorate to "demand an explanation" from the authorities, IRNA reported. The next day government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said the intelligence and education ministries were trying to find the cause of the poisonings, AFP reported.

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However, earlier, education minister Youssef Nouri had termed the reports about the poisoning of schoolgirls "rumours", claiming that the students taken to the hospital had "underlying diseases".

The poisonings come days after Iran and China urged mutual neighbour Afghanistan to end restrictions on women's work and education. The two sides called on the Afghan rulers to form an inclusive government in which all ethnic groups and political groups actually participate, and cancel all discriminatory measures against women, ethnic minorities, and other religions.