Kabul: According to international media, 80 women were hospitalised after being poisoned at school. The incident took place on Saturday and Sunday in the province of Sar-e-Pul in the north.
The province Department of Education’s head, Mohammad Rahmani, claimed the poisoning occurred in the Sangcharak district among female students in classes 1 through 6. He said that 60 students from Naswan-e-Kabod Aab School and 17 students from Naswan-e-Faizabad School had been poisoned.
He said, “Both primary schools are near to each other and were targeted one after the other. We shifted the students to the hospital and now they are all fine.”
The inquiry is still underway, but preliminary findings indicate that someone with a grudge paid a third party to carry out the attacks. He provided no details about how the girls were poisoned or the nature of their injuries.
It is believed to be the first such assault since the Taliban rose to power in August 2021 and began their onslaught on Afghan women and girls’ rights and liberties. Girls are restricted from higher education, including university, and women are barred from most employment and public settings.
