Fears religious groups are targeting girls to keep them out of school and to intimidate street protesters
Hundreds of young Iranian girls have been poisoned in a series of mysterious gas attacks on schools across the Islamic republic, raising fears that militant religious groups are waging a dangerous campaign against female education.
The spate of attacks began in November in the holy city of Qom, home to the most senior clergy, but was kept from the public by the authorities, according to Iranian media. It has burst into the open this week as scores more schoolgirls have fallen victim to poisonings that have spread to other Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran.
Some of the schoolgirls affected have been hospitalised and it is unclear if any of them have died as a result of the poisoning. Accounts on social media reported they suffered breathing difficulties and vomiting, together with a burning sensation and paralysis in their legs. The mother of one 15-year-old victim told the Financial Times that said she arrived at her daughter’s school to find doctors treating sick pupils in an ambulance while others lay in the street awaiting urgent medical attention.’s deputy health minister Younes Panahi said this week that the attackers wanted “to see all schools closed, in particular girls’ schools”.
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