Afghanistan: Almost 80 Girls Poisoned At School, Now Hospitalised

A local education official recently reported that over 80 girls were poisoned and hospitalised in two separate assaults at their primary schools in northern Afghanistan.

It is considered to be the first such massive-scale assault ever since the Taliban took control in August 2021 and took away most rights and liberties of Afghan girls and women.

80 Girls Poisoned In Afghanistan

Ever since the Taliban took over governance in Afghanistan, their intentions towards the liberty of young girls and women were visible right from the start. From placing bans on them accessing several public places like gyms, and amusement parks to going to the extent of forbidding them from pursuing further education, the Taliban has been violating the fundamental rights of females.

The condition there is getting deteriorated consistently and women are becoming the prey to criminal activities. In another alarming incident, about eighty girls were poisoned in a Northern Afghan school recently in the Sar-e-Pul province.

While the education officials stated that the poisoner had a personal vendetta but did not clarify on what grounds was he able to poison so many girls. According to Mohammad Rahmani, chief of the provincial education department, the students were poisoned in Sangcharak district. While about 20 school-going girls were poisoned at Naswan-e-Faizabad School, 60 were poisoned at Naswan-e-Kabod Aab School.

Rahmani informed the local news agency AP that the students were immediately taken to the hospital and the medics were able to stabilise them. He said that while the investigation is currently underway, it appeared from the preliminary hunt that this shameful incident was a result of a grudge.

Poisoning at a girls' school is, surprisingly, on the rise considering what happened in November 2022 in Afghnaistan's neighbouring country Iran. Last year, Iran stood shaken by an incident when thousands of students claimed to have been adversely affected by strong odours at their institute.

Suggested Reading: Women’s Secret War: Inside Story Of US Female Soldiers On Missions To Afghanistan