Hanna Neumann: The Death of Arzu Khavari is a Sign of Discrimination Against Minorities and Women

Warning: Contains content related to suicide. Nothing is more important than human life. If you are thinking about suicide, please contact these special numbers for help: In Iran: Social Emergency 123, Consultant Voice 1480, or Tehran Psychiatric Emergency 44508200. In the USA: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 18002738255, or National Crisis and Suicide Prevention Line 988. In Canada: 911 or 18334564566. In the UK: 116123 and in Afghanistan: 119. Hanna Neumann, head of the Iran section in the European Parliament, on Thursday, November 8, referred to the suicide and death of a schoolgirl in Iran, stating that she "lost her life after humiliation and threats." In a post on the social media platform "X," Neumann highlighted the suicide of Arzu Khavari, a 16-year-old Afghan student in Iran, adding that this incident "emphasizes the existence of terrible discrimination against minorities and women" and stressed that the death of this student "serves as a reminder of the urgent need to support girls and women facing oppression." Arzu Khavari, a ninth-grade student at Kowsar School in the city of Rey, committed suicide after school officials confronted her and threatened her with expulsion from high school. The "Dadban" account on the social media platform X, which identifies itself as a "legal consulting and training center for activists," reported on Tuesday, November 7, that Arzu Khavari had been repeatedly threatened with expulsion by school officials, which was the cause of her suicide on November 4. According to Dadban, the threat of expulsion began after an incident during a student camp where students removed their manteaus and disregarded school officials' warnings by wearing sweatshirts. Following this incident, the school principal summoned Arzu's family for "wearing jeans and removing the manteau" and threatened her with expulsion; this threat severely destabilized Arzu's mental state and led to her suicide. According to the report, after this incident, the school made no efforts to alleviate the spirits of other students and did not even send a condolence message in the school's virtual group. The father of the deceased student recounted in an interview published on Tuesday by the Rokna news agency, "My daughter Arzu went to the school camp on Saturday when the school called to inform us about her actions. Instead of wearing the uniform pants, she wore jeans, and half an hour later, the principal called again and said Arzu had left school without permission at four in the afternoon, and we have no news of her." Arzu Khavari's father stated that in a subsequent call, school officials asked the family to go to the hospital, adding, "I went to the hospital and found my daughter’s body. I learned that Arzu died after falling from a building where her friend's house was located." He also noted, "We filed a complaint against the school officials at the police station in Shahr-e Rey; we complained about the school principal. This was not the first time they mistreated my daughter. Last year, they also tried to prevent her registration for reasons like why she has many friends or why some of her hair is showing." Reports of Arzu Khavari's death come almost a year after the killing of Armita Garavand, a teenage student, after being pushed by hijab enforcement forces in the Tehran metro. During the nationwide protests of 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, students played a significant role in the demonstrations, and schools, especially girls' schools, were one of the centers of protests, with several students killed in the crackdown on protests. Dadban report: The principal's threat was the cause of Arzu Khavari's suicide. The suicide of a teenage girl; school officials: "She wore jeans." Intensified security pressures on the family of Armita Garavand on the anniversary of her death.