Nearly a hundred people were poisoned over the weekend, including 82 young girls, in two schools in Afghanistan. Officials told EFE on Monday that women’s secondary and higher education remain banned by the Taliban.
About 56 primary school students were affected, along with three teachers, a janitor, and a parent, at a school in Sar-e-Pul province last Saturday, according to Mufti, the information director for Sar-e-Pul. In the same region the following day, 26 more students and four teachers were hospitalized after another poisoning incident, as reported by Amr, who provided updates from local authorities.
The source said that all hospitalized students experienced nausea and respiratory distress after unidentified assailants sprayed the classrooms with a toxic substance. Authorities have not yet identified the exact agent used in the attacks and are continuing to investigate the case to locate those responsible.
Health officials described the current condition of the students as stable, and government representatives stated that an investigation is underway to bring the perpetrators to justice. This act of violence comes at a time when Afghan women face heightened restrictions, including a ban on attending secondary school and higher education, a policy stance enforced since the Taliban took control in August 2021.
Additional restrictions include mandatory face coverings in public settings, strict gender-based separation, and requirements for women to be accompanied by a male guardian when traveling. A recent measure also restricts women from working in non-governmental organizations, a move widely criticized by the international community amid concerns about worsening humanitarian conditions in the country.
Observers note that these developments echo the Taliban’s earlier approach during their 1996 to 2001 rule, when education for girls was severely limited and women were largely confined to the home under a strict interpretation of religious and cultural norms. The current climate in Afghanistan has raised international alarm about the impact on education, health, and daily life for women and girls across the country.