DNA Explainer: Truth behind mysterious poisoning of 900 Iranian schoolgirls, know what happened

After the controversial anti-hijab protests in Iran and the death of Mahsa Amini raised several questions against the Iranian government, another incident has taken place, where hundreds of Iranian schoolgirls have allegedly been poisoned inside their institutes.

Weeks ago, dozens of Iranian schoolgirls said that they were feeling sick after coming home from school, and the number soon rose to around 900. According to many international media reports, the girls have fallen sick after a massive wave of poisoning.

Almost all the patients of the alleged wave of poisoning have reported the same symptoms - respiratory problems, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue – making this case even more mysterious. While the government has not yet addressed what could be the cause of this sickness, here is all you need to know about the incident.

Iranian schoolgirls poisoning: What happened

Many videos from Iran surfaced where female students and some teachers from schools were being taken to the hospital as they remained in distress. These videos sparked speculation that these students were poisoned while they were inside their institutes.

As per media reports, almost all the students who had fallen sick revealed that they had smelled a pungent scent while they were in their classes, shortly after which they became sick, raising speculations of a poisonous gas being released in the schools.

Speculated reason behind mass poisoning

Despite nearly a thousand girl students in Iran falling sick due to the alleged poisoning inside the female school, the government of Iran has not yet revealed the cause or given an official statement, while the reason behind this incident is being investigated by the government.

While the toxic gas poisoning in Iran schools is still being explored, many residents of the country and media reports believe that the poisoning has taken place only in girls schools because they are often the place for anti-government activity and protests.

Many also believe that girl schools were targeted because many of them were part of the protests against the government in the anti-hijab movement after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the “morality police” in the country.

While it is not yet known if the release of the toxic gas was an accident or not, many are raising questions against the government and asking Iran President Ebrahim Raisi to issue an answer over the controversy.

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