Girls in Afghanistan are currently only allowed to study up to grade 6.
The Guardian newspaper on June 5 quoted a local education official as saying that nearly 80 schoolgirls were poisoned and hospitalized in two incidents that occurred at two primary schools in northern Afghanistan.
The perpetrator of the poisonings had a personal grudge, but details are not yet clear. The poisonings took place in Sar-e-Pul province on June 3 and 4.
This is believed to be the first time this type of poisoning has occurred since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021 and began policies criticized by the West as restricting the rights and freedoms of women and girls.
Girls were banned from attending school beyond the sixth grade, while women were barred from most jobs and many public places.
According to Mohammad Rahmani, director of the Sar-e-Pul provincial education department, the poisonings occurred in Sangcharak district. He said 60 girls were poisoned at Naswan-e-Kabod Aab school and 17 others were poisoned at Naswan-e-Faizabad school.
"The two elementary schools were close to each other and were targeted one after another. We took the students to the hospital and they are now fine," the official said, AP news agency reported.
The provincial education department is investigating and preliminary results show that someone out of hatred paid the person who carried out the poisoning. Mr. Rahmani did not provide specific information about how the children were poisoned or the nature of the poisoning. He said the children were from grades 1 to 6.
Since November last year, neighboring Iran has been rocked by a wave of poisonings, mostly at girls’ schools. Thousands of students have said they inhaled toxic fumes. However, there is no information yet on the possible culprits or the chemicals involved.
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