Girl Student from Kazeroon Commits Suicide After Expulsion Over Nail Polish and Hair Color

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 Crisis and Suicide Prevention National Line 988. In Canada: 911 or 18334564566. In the UK: 116123 and in Afghanistan: 119. The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions reported on Thursday, November 8, the suicide of another girl student in Kazeroon County, Fars Province. According to the Telegram channel of this trade union, a few days ago, in the village of Daris, affiliated with Kazeroon County, Ainaz Karimi, a 12th-grade student, committed suicide after being violently threatened by Rahimi, the school principal, for what he claimed was a "violation of decorum" due to "having nail polish and dyed hair" and was expelled from school. "Due to pressure and questioning from her family based on strict local traditions, she ended her life with a noose." The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions added in this report titled "Another Victim of Decayed Policies and Repressive Management": "Is anyone aware of the silent and quiet suicides in villages and small towns? Suicides that occur under the weight of humiliation, threats, and in the name of 'values' and 'honor' but are not reported?" The council further stated that "there is no news of officials following up, and the education department of Kazeroon and its officials, instead of defending students' rights, remain silent and are satisfied with maintaining their positions and ranks, and raised the question of whether these deep wounds should not be eradicated instead of the usual cover-ups?" The council also posed the question, "Why do we not analyze and prevent these issues instead of burying them?" It emphasized that "ideological and repressive behaviors in schools not only plunder the future of students but also lead to the loss of their lives and motivation." This independent teachers' organization called for an end to ideological policies, the elimination of the humiliating view of students, and respect for their individual freedoms and human rights, stating: "The education system must move away from tools of repression and ideological control and instead adopt a human-centered and knowledge-based approach." Previously, the suicide and death of 16-year-old Arzu Khavari in Shahr-e Rey had made headlines. Arzu Khavari, a 9th-grade student at Kowsar School in Shahr-e Rey, committed suicide after being threatened with expulsion by school officials. The 'Dadban' account on the social media platform X, which introduces itself as "a center for legal advice and education for activists," wrote on Tuesday, November 7, that Arzu Khavari had been repeatedly threatened with expulsion by school officials, which was the reason for her suicide on November 4. According to Dadban, the story of the threat of expulsion against Arzu Khavari began during a student camp where students took off their uniforms and spent the camp wearing 'sweatshirts' despite school officials' warnings. After this incident, the school principal summoned Arzu's family for her wearing jeans and taking off her uniform and threatened her with expulsion; this threat severely destabilized Arzu's mental state and led to her suicide. According to this report, after this incident, the school made no effort 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 a story published on Tuesday by Rokna News Agency, "My daughter Arzu went to the school camp on Saturday, and the school called to inform us about her actions. Instead of wearing the uniform pants, she wore jeans, and half an hour later, the school principal called again and said Arzu had left the school at four in the afternoon without coordination, and we have no news of her." Arzu Khavari's father stated that in the next 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 against the school principal. This was not the first time they mistreated my daughter. Last year, they also intended not to enroll her for reasons like why she has many friends or why some of her hair is showing." Reports of Arzu Khavari's death came 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 suppression of protests.