Religious rules and abuse in Iranian schools drive suicides, students say

Severe humiliation and abuse in schools are key factors driving Iranian students to contemplate or attempt suicide, interviews conducted by Iran International reveal.

These firsthand accounts highlight the harsh conditions within the educational system under the Islamic Republic, where strict dress codes and conduct rules are strictly enforced. Students face extreme consequences for rule violations, often resulting in severe mental health struggles.

A survey referenced by the domestic Shargh media outlet in March, which included 46,000 students, revealed alarming figures: half of the students reported experiencing depression, 18% had attempted suicide, and 21% had contemplated suicide.

Since 2021, the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization has ceased publishing detailed suicide data, including age, gender, and dates, making it more challenging to assess the full scope of the crisis.

As of November, however, at least 31 school students in the country had attempted suicide over the previous eight months, with 26 fatalities, according to the HRANA rights group. Factors such as poverty, enforced hijab, forced marriage, and family conflicts have been cited as contributors to these attempts.

Iran’s teachers’ union recently stated that the latest suicide of a female student was part of a "harrowing cycle deeply rooted in flawed policies, systemic pressures within the education sector, ideological impositions, and the disregard of authorities for the growing mental health crisis in schools."

Amid this crisis, accounts by students, parents, and teachers shared with Iran International offer a glimpse into the emotional and psychological toll on teenagers in a school system that fails to support their well-being.

For security reasons, interviewees were provided pseudonyms, and all interviews with children were conducted with the consent of their parents or in their presence, ensuring that ethical and legal guidelines were followed.

According to several young female students, male school principals were often identified as the primary figures responsible for humiliating them, leaving them in severe emotional distress.

A 15-year-old girl shared how her principal’s violent behavior left her deeply traumatized.

“In the schoolyard, the principal shouted behind me, ‘How dare you come to school dressed like this? What do you think this is, Shahre-e-No?’” she said, referring to the red-light district that existed before the Islamic Revolution.

The principal berated her for her highlighted hair and manicured nails before physically pushing her. “Sit down! I’ll call your father and sort this out,” the principal said.

Her father described the aftermath: “The principal expelled my daughter and declared, ‘Shave her head completely!’”

In another case, a 16-year-old girl in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, shared how her school principal insulted her for shaping her eyebrows with her family’s permission.

“So, where’s your husband, then?” the principal taunted. After being slapped in front of classmates for complaining about the treatment, the girl contemplated suicide the same day. “If your parents cannot raise you properly, I will make you behave,” the principal told her.

In a northern Iranian city, a 14-year-old student was humiliated and shamed for wearing rainbow-colored trainers.

The principal forced her to remove her shoes in front of classmates and barred her from attending a class.

The child’s mother recalled the child’s distress, saying: “She broke down in tears and told me, ‘Mom, I want to die.’”

Systemic shortcomings in mental health support

The crisis is amplified by the severe shortage of mental health resources in Iranian schools, where students, already subjected to humiliation and abuse by staff, have no access to the support they need to recover from these often traumatic experiences.

Iran’s comprehensive counseling guidelines recommend having one counselor for every 12 students. However, the country’s schools currently employ only 13,000 counselors, leaving a significant gap of 37,000 professionals needed to meet this standard.

A psychotherapist in Tehran reported an increase in cases of children he had seen, contemplating suicide over the past year – with many experiencing depression due to abusive treatment in schools, including bullying by classmates or staff.

He noted that the severe shortage of counselors leaves many students without the support they desperately need.

“Not all families can afford the $60 to $90 per session for counseling. Iran lacks the infrastructure for suicide-related services,” he said. “Religious views and a lack of expertise mean this critical issue is either ignored or treated as a security matter.”

In contrast, other countries provide more robust support.

In neighbouring Turkey, psychological counseling and guidance services are available in many schools under laws aimed at safeguarding mental health, with some reports indicating these services are free of charge. Schools also contact families or relevant organizations when necessary.

The United Kingdom also mandates suicide prevention training for teachers, who are required to refer at-risk students to specialists. Support plans are created, and confidentiality is maintained unless the child’s life is at risk.

Hamed, a teacher in Tehran, believes the education system under the Islamic Republic is fundamentally broken.

“When the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic prevented the implementation of UNESCO’s 2030 Agenda, it was essentially a war on the minds and souls of the nation’s children,” he said.

The agenda’s goals include equal educational opportunities for girls, which were replaced with a national document prioritizing devout religious upbringing.

Hamed recounted the case of a student who attempted suicide two years ago after clerics at the school made inappropriate remarks about his family. Instead of addressing the issue, the school threatened the family, warning that speaking out would result in the student’s expulsion. Faced with this pressure, he said, the family decided to homeschool their child.

In addition to these pressures on students, experts have long noted the significant decline of Iran’s public education system under the Islamic Republic. Challenges such as reduced investments, increasing clerical control, and widening socioeconomic disparities have weakened the system.

Mass dropouts, declining academic performance, and the growing presence of clerics and Basij members—a paramilitary force under the IRGC tasked with enforcing ideological conformity—have further compounded the crisis, shifting the focus from education to ideological indoctrination.

Maryam, a teacher’s rights activist, said today’s educational atmosphere resembles the restrictive environment of the 1980s.

“Suicide is stigmatized in schools due to religious beliefs, and cultural factors also play a role. Society needs education on how to address this issue,” she said.

Another teacher activist stressed the need for widespread education on preventing suicide.

“These measures require funding, but neither the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, nor the government is willing to invest,” he said. “The children of this land must enjoy mental health support to face future challenges. In Iran, however, it is considered either a luxury or a security matter.”

Although the “Student Social Care System” (NAMAD) was launched in the 2010s to address such issues, the program has been effectively abandoned, leaving students without adequate support.

Activists and educators warn that without urgent action, the mental health crisis among Iran’s youth will only deepen.