"Student Day" parade on rooftops

It is the year of Corona and students' lessons and schooling have been affected by the Corona pandemic. In most countries of the world, the health of students and teachers has even been prioritized over attending school and learning.

However, the deputy of the Iranian Student Mobilization Organization says that on November 8th - if conditions are ready - we will gather students in Behesht-e-Zahra next to the Hossein Fahmideh Memorial and, while observing health protocols, we will commemorate the memory of 36,000 student martyrs.

First of all, I ask Saeed Peyvandi, an educational sociologist, whether the existence of what the Student Mobilization calls student martyrs in a country's educational institution is a matter of memorialization or a clear violation of children's rights? Mr. Peyvandi says:

"I think everyone who has followed Iran's education news over the last three or four years was aware of the strong opposition of Mr. Khamenei and his close associates to the UNESCO 2030 document. Because in this document, there was, among other things, an item that criticized countries that somehow use children in military affairs, give them military training, and involve them in military matters in any way."
"Iran is one of those regimes that UNESCO is addressing. A regime that has done this extensively in the distant past and has tried in recent years to [maintain] this combative, military, and warlike atmosphere in Iranian schools, especially in high schools. This is a policy that is in complete contradiction with international conventions on children's rights."

The Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits any participation of children in war, although Iran was not yet a party to the convention at the time of the Iran-Iraq war. Pegah Bani Hashemi, a lawyer specializing in international law, says:

"In the 1970s, the international community began to think about working on treaties to prohibit the use of children in war. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by the international community, and Article 38 of it specifically states that political groups should not use persons under the age of 15 in war. Later, the Optional Protocol on the Participation of Children in War called on the parties to the conflict not to allow persons under the age of 18 to participate in war.
This protocol calls every person under the age of 18 a child and calls for the comprehensive protection of individuals under the age of 18 by governments and administrations.

However, the commemoration of child soldiers who died in adult wars, the propaganda of war, and the participation of students in war are issues that educational sociologist Saeed Peyvandi says probably only exist in the Iranian education system:

"We have very few countries that would consider such programs for their students. Programs that have a military aspect and that discuss war and conflict with other countries and the use of weapons and military equipment."
This remains active in Iran with the presence of the military branch of the government [in the educational institution], and its very negative impact on society and youth culture is that instead of teaching peace and friendship with other countries and peaceful coexistence inside and outside the country, we want to educate a generation with a culture of war and hostility towards others.
"It can be said with certainty that this volume of hostile and military programs is something exceptional in the world, and perhaps Iran is the only country that implements such programs for students in schools."

The successor to the Student Mobilization Organization, in his press conference, described child soldiers as "little brave men" who, according to him, can be role models for today's generation of students. In addition, according to the same official, a book containing lessons from the Hajj Qasim school has been designed and is being compiled on the occasion of Student Mobilization Week!

At the same time, competitions beyond the usual curriculum have been planned. Competitions such as "text writing on the topic "Why Death to America?", a visual message to American soldiers on the topic of their withdrawal from the region and the harsh revenge for the blood of martyr Hajj Qassem Soleimani, as well as painting on the topic of anti-arrogance and depicting American crimes! Saeed Peyvandi emphasizes:

"Everywhere in the world, extracurricular programs are dedicated to sports and fun programs or collective activities in the field of the environment or similar activities. In Iran, we have 166 educational programs that are imposed on students outside the curriculum each year, most of which are political, ideological, and religious. Not only does it have nothing to do with the children's age, spirit, and needs, but even their effectiveness and impact on children are questionable. What kind of impact do these types of programs have on children in general, and to what extent has the government been able to impose its ideology on the younger generation?"

This is where lawyer Pegah Bani Hashemi emphasizes that it is not just a matter of not allowing children to participate in war. Even exposing them to war and ideological propaganda is prohibited:

"It's not limited to using children in war. The use of children even in propaganda related to war, such as the cases where we use children to promote war, [is included in this prohibition]. We see that unfortunately in the Iran-Iraq war, many of those who were martyred or returned and faced very serious problems were people who were under 18 years old, and even 13 and 14, and they were used at very young ages.
As a lawyer, I believe that just as we refer to the issue of a person having capacity in financial transactions and even in non-financial contracts, people under the age of 18 do not have the necessary capacity to participate in war. I even consider the lack of capacity, intention, and consent in children under the age of 18 to be such that even parental permission cannot be appropriate for them to want to go to war and put themselves in danger.
"Because sometimes people even become victims of their own parents' thoughts. It is possible that a child who is under 18 years old and appears in a war scene may later think to himself that this was an emotional issue and an issue that I did not have enough knowledge about, and that I became a victim of my parents' will or their encouragement."

All this aside. At the height of the Corona crisis, isn't holding a ceremony like this a threat to the health of students and teachers? Saeed Peyvandi answers:

"In a situation where the coronavirus has reached such a high level in Iran, like in some other countries, instead of moving towards limiting communication and securing educational spaces and social environments, we are actually exacerbating the crisis of this epidemic with such programs. And with all the promises made about observing protocols, we know in practice that such a thing does not actually exist in Iran, and these types of initiatives can even worsen Iran's health situation."

The deputy of the Student Mobilization Organization has announced that the November 13 rally will not be held this year and has asked students to make a video of themselves shouting “Death to America” loudly in a public space, such as on the roofs of houses or in neighborhood yards, at 9 a.m. on November 13. He said that if the students are creative, they can make and burn American flags, and according to him, the Zionist regime, and in this way increase their points!

One must hope that playing with fire does not endanger the health of students and their families.

Source: Radio Farda