Women protest in Kabul against the Taliban's decision to prevent them from attending academia (Reuters)
About 60 students in Afghanistan have been hospitalized after being poisoned at their school in the north of the country, police in the Taliban-controlled country said Monday. The poisoning, which took place in Saar-et-Paul province, occurred at a time when the education of girls in the country was severely restricted despite criticism from the international community.
"Some unknown persons entered a girls' school in Sancharek province and poisoned the classrooms, and when the girls came to classes they were poisoned," said a police spokesman in Sar-e-Paul province. He did not specify what toxic substance was used or who was suspected of being behind the poisoning. He said the students were taken to hospital but were in "good" condition. No one has been arrested so far.
The Taliban, which seized the country from the pro-Western government in 2021 after foreign forces withdrew, closed universities and high schools to women and girls, but primary schools remained open to them. The organization said it was in favor of the education of women and girls, under certain conditions.
Students reading the Quran at a madrasa in Kabul, October (Photo: Reuters)
The poisoning in Afghanistan is reminiscent of what is happening in neighboring Iran, where about 13,<> students have been poisoned in girls' schools since last November. During the previous Afghan administration, similar poisonings were recorded in girls' schools, including suspected poison gas attacks.
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