Femicide/suicide: Afghan girl ends her life following threats of expulsion for not adhering to mandatory hijab

Hengaw: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 

Arezoo Khavari, an Afghan national residing in Iran, took her own life after being threatened with expulsion by the school principal and vice-principal for not adhering to mandatory hijab regulations. 

 According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Saturday, November 4, 2024, Arezoo Khavari, a 16-year-old student at Kosar High School in District 20 of Shahr-e Rey, ended her life after being threatened with expulsion by the school principal, Mahnaz Qanbarian. 

 Sources say that the vice-principal filmed Arezoo Khavari dancing during a school trip outside the school grounds when her headscarf accidentally slipped. The video was subsequently handed over to the principal, who then summoned Arezo to the office and threatened to expel her from school. 

 The threat of expulsion occurred on the same day as the school trip, where Arezoo was reportedly humiliated by the vice-principal for wearing jeans while many of her classmates were dressed similarly. 

 Following these threats, Arezoo left the school grounds. She entered an open building nearby, climbed to the sixth floor, jumped down, and ended her life. 

 Hengaw has learned that Arezoo, an Afghan national living in Iran, had previously faced humiliation by school officials. The vice-principal had often reprimanded her for her clothing, reminding her of Iranian laws and stating that Afghans like her “should be sent to the Taliban as concubines.” 

 In an interview with Rokna, Arezoo’s father confirmed that his daughter had gone on a school trip on Saturday. The school called him, saying, “Do you know what your daughter has done? She wore jeans instead of the school uniform.” He added, “Half an hour later, the school called again and said Arezoo had left the school grounds at 4 p.m. without authorization, and they had no further information on her whereabouts.” 

 He went on to say, “An hour later, the school called us again, urging us to rush to the hospital. I work in scrap metal and drive a pickup truck. When I heard the news, I dropped everything and went to the hospital, only to find my daughter’s body. She had passed away.” 

 Arezoo’s father has since filed a complaint against Kosar High School officials with the Shahr-e Rey police. 

Hengaw has described the plight of Afghan migrants in Iran as dire, noting that the majority lack basic civil rights. The organization warns of the increasingly harsh policies enacted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Afghan migrants. 

 Furthermore, the lack of fundamental human rights for women and young girls has fostered an environment where murder and forcing them into suicide have become alarmingly commonplace. The tragic death of Arezoo Khavari at the age of 16, following threats of expulsion for dancing, exemplifies the systemic violence against young women in the gender-apartheid system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For Arezo, the added fear of losing access to education due to her Afghan heritage compounded her despair and ultimately led her to end her life.