Education

At least 82 girls poisoned in 2 schools in northern Afghanistan

Kabul, June 5 (EFE).- Almost one hundred people, including 82 girls, were poisoned during the weekend in two schools in Afghanistan and taken to hospital, official sources told EFE on Monday.

The incident comes at a time when women’s secondary and higher education remains banned by the Taliban authorities.

Up to 56 primary school girls were poisoned on Saturday, as well as three teachers, a teacher, two janitors and a parent at a school in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul, provincial information director Mufti Ameer told EFE.

In the same region, another 26 students and four women teachers were also poisoned the next day, Ameer added.

According to the official, “all the students who were taken to the hospital had nausea and respiratory problems due to unknown persons spraying poison in the classrooms.”

The authorities said that they have already begun investigations to arrest those responsible.

These two incidents come at a time when women’s secondary and university education remains banned in Afghanistan, as part of the reimposition of strict restrictions on women by the Taliban since they came to power in August 2021.

The restrictions include mandatory veils, gender segregation at public places and the need to be accompanied by a male family member on long journeys.

In December last year, the fundamentalists imposed a ban on women working in non-governmental organizations, which was harshly condemned by the international community, fearing that the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan will worsen.

Over the last two years, the Taliban have been reinstating the oppressive norms of their previous regime based on a rigid interpretation of Islamic law and their strict social code known as Pashtunwali. EFE

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