Last Update: March 05, 2023, 06:25 AM IST
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
A woman cuts her hair in support of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested by the country’s morality police, outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm, Sweden. (Reuters Photo)
A gathering of parents outside the Ministry of Education building in western Tehran in protest against the disease turned into an anti-government demonstration
Concerned parents held protests in Iran’s capital Tehran and other cities on Saturday over a wave of suspected poison attacks affecting schoolgirls at dozens of schools, according to Iranian news agencies and social media videos.
As yet unknown diseases have affected hundreds of schoolgirls in recent months. Iranian officials believe the girls may have been poisoned and have blamed enemies of Tehran.
The country’s health minister has said the girls have suffered attacks of “mild poisoning” and some politicians have suggested the girls may be targeted by radical Islamic groups opposed to girls’ education.
More than 30 schools in at least 10 of Iran’s 31 provinces were affected by the disease on Saturday. Video Posts on social media showed parents gathering at schools to take their children home and some students being taken to hospitals in ambulances or buses.
a gathering of parents outside Education A protest against the disease turned the ministry building in western Tehran into an anti-government demonstration on Saturday, according to a video verified by Reuters.
Protesters compared the Revolutionary Guards and other security forces to the Islamic State group, chanting, “Basij, Guards, you are our Daesh.”
According to unverified video, similar protests were held in two other areas in Tehran and other cities including Isfahan and Rasht.
The outbreak of the schoolgirl’s illness comes at a critical time for Iran’s clerical rulers, who have faced anti-government protests following the death of a young Iranian woman in the custody of morality police enforcing a strict dress code.
Social media posts in recent days have featured pictures and videos of girls who have fallen ill, felt nauseous or suffered from heart palpitations. Others complained of headaches. Reuters could not verify the posts.
The UN human rights office in Geneva called on Friday for a transparent investigation into the suspected attacks and countries including Germany and the United States expressed concern.
Iran dismissed it as foreign interference and a “hasty reaction” and said on Friday it was investigating the causes of the incidents.
“It is one of the immediate priorities of the government of Iran to pursue this issue as quickly as possible and to resolve the concerns of the families and hold the perpetrators and causes accountable,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told state media.
Schoolgirls were active in the anti-government protests that began in September. They have removed their mandatory headscarves in classrooms, torn up pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and called for his death.
read all Breaking News Here
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)