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Friday, April 19th 2024
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Hijab crackdown: Iran sends protesting students to ‘psychological centers’

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Tehran: Iran has reportedly sent protesting school students to ‘psychological centers’ to prevent them from becoming `antisocial characters’.

In an interview with an independent reformist newspaper, Iranian Education Minister Yousef Nouri confirmed that some school students had already been arrested. He said they were sent to “psychological institutions” that “embrace students” with the aim to “reform and re-educate” them to prevent “anti-social” behavior.

Iran has been rocked by protests by angry women and students after 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish Mahsa Amini died in custody after she was arrested by the ‘morality police’ for allegedly improperly wearing a headscarf.

“It is possible that these students are ‘anti-social figures’ and we want to reform them,” Yousef Nouri told Sharq newspaper. He added that students can return to their classrooms after getting “reformed,”  the minister said

The Iranian-American artist, Nazanin Boniadi, had re-published the Iranian Minister of Education’s statements about the detention of students in psychological reform centers and wrote: “It is a shame. What does the United Nations want to do about it?”

Several videos and photos circulated on Twitter showing Iranian police arriving at schools to arrest children. This comes in the wake of widespread protests in schools and universities in the country, especially among girls and young women.