160 poisoned at school in Afghanistan, officials say

One hundred and sixty girls were admitted to a hospital in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday after they were poisoned in their classrooms with a type of spray, a police official in Takhar said. The incident, the second in a week’s time, was reported at the Aahan Dara Girls school in Talokhan, the provincial capital. The girls, ranging in ages of 10 to 20, complained of headaches, dizziness, and vomiting before they were taken to the hospital, according to police spokesman Khalilullah Aseer. More than half of the girls were discharged within hours of receiving treatment. Blood samples have been taken and sent to Kabul for testing.

More than 120 girls and three teachers were admitted to the hospital last week after a similar suspected poisoning. Last week, Aseer said, “The Afghan people know that the terrorists and the Taliban are doing these things to threaten girls and stop them going to school. That’s something we and the people believe. Now we are implementing democracy in Afghanistan and we want girls to be educated, but the government’s enemies don’t want this.” From 1996 to 2001, when the Taliban ruled, many Afghan girls were not allowed to attend school. Schools did not reopen until the regime was toppled by the U.S. –led invasion in 2001. However, abuse of women reportedly remains common in the post-Taliban era and is often accepted in conservative and traditional families, where women are barred from school and sometimes subjected to domestic violence.