Afghan authorities reported that at least 82 girls were poisoned in two schools in the Sar e Pol province in the north of the country in what could be a mass poisoning of students. Some teachers, school staff and parents were also affected, bringing the number of people poisoned to almost 100.
The incidents took place at two primary schools in the municipality of Sancharak, namely Kabud Ab School and Faizabad School, said an official of the provincial education department. According to the Efe Agency and as reported by several media outlets, 56 students were poisoned Saturday, as well as three staff members, a teacher, two janitors and the father of a student. Subsequently, on Sunday, 26 girls and four teachers were poisoned.
#ÚLTIMAHORA | Al menos 82 estudiantes afganas son envenenadas en dos colegios en el norte de Afganistán. pic.twitter.com/MqAbl0GS8P
— EFE Noticias (@EFEnoticias) June 5, 2023
The origin of the poisoning has not yet been revealed. Female education is banned in Afghanistan from secondary school due to orders from the Taliban fundamentalist movement. Girls in kindergarten are allowed to attend school.
Poisoning of students
It is not the first time that something similar has happened in Afghanistan, a country ruled by the fundamentalist Taliban regime, which belittles women and excludes them from public life. In 2013, some 200 girls were poisoned at Sultan Razia High School in Kabul.
Other Islamic countries have experienced similar incidences. Last year, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, there was a mass poisoning targeting girls' schools. In Iran, a neighboring country to Afghanistan, thousands of girls have been persecuted for simply receiving an education.
