Assita Kanko calls for an international investigation into the poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls with a resolution

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution that strongly condemns the poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls. MEP Assita Kanko was involved in negotiating the text as a member of the Human Rights Committee. “We have condemned the systematic poisoning of schoolgirls in Iran in the strongest terms and called for an urgent, international and independent investigation. Expecting Iranian authorities to protect girls is like expecting a wild animal to protect its prey,” Kanko responds.

More than 13,000 girls in more than 200 schools spread across 25 Iranian provinces have become unwell after gas poisoning. Many were hospitalised; one student died from it. This is a frontal attack against girls’ right to education, which has not been questioned in Iran until now. Despite numerous arrests, not much is yet known about the whole issue, but once again a wave of protest is emerging, while the previous wave has barely subsided.

Iranian women risk their lives

“Ayatollah Khamenei may well condemn this cowardly act with grand speeches, but he is not without blame himself. When protest broke out after Mahsa Amini’s death, he said reckless behaviour must be punished. And the driving force behind that protest were young schoolgirls. I express my support for this protest and for the courageous people risking their lives by standing up for their freedom, especially for that of women. Women are still considered as inferior in Iran, and the European Union cannot and must not look away from this injustice,” Kanko says.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the terrorist list

The European Parliament demands an independent, international investigation into these crimes and wants the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which intimidates girls’ parents and hospital staff, to be placed on the EU terrorist list.

Women’s rights over religious dogmas

Assita Kanko supports the call of the Iranian people and stresses the frequent violation of women’s rights by the Iranian authorities: “The oppression of women in Iran, and in many other parts of the world, is a hallmark of Islamic fundamentalism and a direct consequence of the application of Sharia law. Let me be clear: women’s rights are above religious dogmas. There must be a separation of religion and state. I support the struggle of Iranians for a free, inclusive and democratic republic.”