Students and schoolchildren hit the streets of Baghdad and southern Iraq on Monday to join escalating calls for the government to quit, defying the education minister, legal threats and even their parents.
"No school, no classes, until the regime collapses!" protestors shouted in Diwaniyah, 180 kilometres (120 miles) south of the capital.
The capital and the country s south have been rocked by a second wave of rallies over perceived government corruption, unemployment and poor services.
The resulting clashes have often turned deadly, with more than 70 killed since Thursday.
