Sixth Student Suicide in Ramhormoz Within a Month

The governor of Ramhormoz confirmed the suicide of a 15-year-old student in this county and said the cause of “recent suicides” is being investigated. Apparently, five other suicides among Ramhormoz students have occurred in the past month.

According to ISNA news agency, the governor of Ramhormoz on Monday, November 16, confirmed the suicide of a female student in this county and said a team has been formed to investigate the cause of this incident.

Arash Ghanbari said a specialized team consisting of law enforcement, social emergency services, welfare, the governor’s office, and the Ministry of Education was formed to investigate this suicide and “recent suicides in Ramhormoz county” to determine what factors led to these incidents.

Six “Suspicious” Suicides in One Month

The news site “Asr-e Jonoob” reported that a 15-year-old student from Ramhormoz hanged himself on Friday evening, November 12, and “prior to this suspicious suicide, five similar suicides among students in this county occurred in the past month”.

According to Ghanbari, various explanations have been given about the cause of the latest suicide among teenagers, including that the cause was the loss of one of the student’s friends.

Rahim Rostami, head of the Ramhormoz Education Department, cites “family disputes, blind fanaticism, intellectual and emotional conflicts, and failure to respond to biological needs and requirements” as major causes of recent suicides.

According to evidence, since the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran, suicide cases among teenagers have increased, although no official or precise statistics have been released on this matter.

With the onset of the coronavirus crisis, almost all schools in Iran have been closed and education is being conducted online through the Shad application (Student Learning Network).

This network was launched by the Ministry of Education, and students must have access to high-speed internet and a smartphone or tablet to use it.

Suicide Over Not Having a Mobile Phone

In recent months, many reports have been published indicating that students in remote areas lack access to the internet or poor families’ children are deprived of having smartphones, and apparently this issue has been the cause of suicide attempts in some cases.

Rostami said the reason for the suicide of one female student in Ramhormoz was “the family’s refusal to buy a mobile phone and the inability of this teenager to continue education”.

According to the head of the Ramhormoz Education Department, there are 27,000 students in this county, at least 4,000 of whom have been deprived of having a mobile phone to continue their education in the current year.

About two months ago, an 11-year-old student in Bandar Dair, Bushehr Province, attempted suicide, which was reported in the media as not having a mobile phone, but was later denied.

Many schools in Iran, especially in small towns and villages, lack the most basic welfare facilities, such as heating or air conditioning, and even adults in them do not have internet access.

Moreover, with the continuation of Iran’s economic crisis, the collapse of the rial’s value, and the alarming increase in prices, many families are unable to provide even basic needs for their children, and buying a mobile phone is simply not affordable for them.

Source: DW