Nearly 80 girls were poisoned and hospitalized in two separate attacks at their primary schools in northern Afghanistan, a local education official said on Sunday.
It is thought to be the first time this kind of assault has happened since the Taliban swept to power in August 2021 and began their crackdown on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls.
Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade, including university, and women are barred from most jobs and public spaces.
The poisonings happened in Sangcharak district, said Mohammad Rahmani, who heads the provincial education department. He said 60 students were poisoned in Naswan-e-Kabod Aab school and 17 others poisoned in Naswan-e-Faizabad school.
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