Right now, dozens of school girls in Iran are ending up in hospital beds.
Over the past three months, hundreds of girls have reportedly been poisoned in schools around the country, according to Iran’s Etemad news agency.
Authorities have acknowledged suspected attacks at more than 50 schools across 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces since November.
Videos on social media show girls falling ill, feeling nauseous or suffering heart palpitations. Others complained of headaches.
“I feel pain in my chest and when I walk my legs shake a little,” an unidentified school girl said in a video shared by Sky News.
Parents have been seen gathering at schools to take their children home, while some students have been taken to hospitals by ambulance or buses.
Over the weekend, Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said “suspicious samples” had been gathered by investigators, without elaborating. He called on the public to remain calm and accused unnamed enemies of inciting fear to undermine the Islamic Republic.
On Saturday, worried parents gathered outside an Education Ministry building in western Tehran to protest over the suspected attacks, which turned into an anti-government demonstration, according to a video verified by Reuters.
Similar protests were held in two other areas in Tehran and other cities including Isfahan and Rasht, according to unverified videos.
Read the article by Brielle Burns on Mamamia.