‘Some people’ poison girls in Iran to stop them from going to school

Tehran: Iran’s deputy health minister, Younes Panahi, confirmed reports of girls being deliberately poisoned in the nation.

This comes after state media reported of ‘some people’ planning to deny education to girls by poisoning them.

Hundreds of cases of respiratory poisoning among school girls have been reported since late November mainly in the holy city of Qom, AFP reported.

The incidents of the poisoning is seemingly so widespread that some girls needed hospital treatment.

"After the poisoning of several students in Qom schools, it was found that some people wanted all schools, especially girls' schools, to be closed," Panahi reportedly said.

There have been no arrests in the poisonings, and it is not yet known if authorities are probing the incidents.

The state news agency IRNA reported that parents of the students affected by poisoning ‘demanded an explanation’ from authorities on February 14.

Subsequently, a government spokesperson said the government agencies were trying to find out the cause of the poisonings.

In the aftermath of the parents’ demand, a judicial probe has been ordered by Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.