Kabul: Nearly 80 girls were poisoned in two separate attacks at their primary schools in northern Afghanistan, a local education officer reported. A first kind of assault took place in Sar-e-Pul province. Nearly 80 female students were poisoned in Sangcharak district, 60 belonged to Naswan-e-Kabod Aab School and 17 poisoned belonged to Naswan-e-Faizabad School.
Taliban swept to power in August 2021 and began their crackdown on the rights and freedom of Afghan women and girls. Girls in Afghanistan are banned from seeking education beyond sixth grade, including university, and women are barred from most jobs and public spaces. According to the education official, the person who orchestrated the poisoning had a personal grudge.
US Special envoy for Afghan women had reported that more than 2.5 million girls are deprived of education in Afghanistan and the convoy had raised concerns at the Human Rights Meetings realising the urgent need for girls education in the nation.
Meanwhile in Iran, which is a neighbouring country has been rocked by a wave of poisonings, mostly in school girls, dating back to last November when thousands of students were sickened by noxious fumes in the incidents. However, there has been no word on who might be behind the incidents or what if any chemicals were used.