Although the Taliban banned women from formal education from 1996 to 2001, women and girls have been returning to school in recent years. Unfortunately, places with public support for the Taliban, especially in southern and eastern Afghanistan, perpetuate violence against schoolgirls and their teachers. A latest attack reaches into the northern province of Takhar, however, where schoolgirls were poisoned in protest against female education.
The recent poisoning of a school’s water supply affected approximately 150 female students. Takhar’s public health department is certain of malicious intent, although no group claimed responsibility for the terrorist act. The school has a larger tank of water from which smaller jugs were filled. It was this large tank that was contaminated, affecting girls throughout the school as they drank from their classroom’s supply.
The effects of the poisoning varied. Many of the girls experienced headaches and vomiting, while some are in critical condition. Approximately a third received treatment at the hospital and were discharged the same day. The schoolgirls are recovering and returning to school, undeterred.
Recently the Taliban laid off publicly opposing women’s education, but officials still suspect the group and are investigating the incident. In any case, this latest act of violence underscores the entirely-too-corporeal resistance to educational equality that haunts Afghanistan and other parts of the world.
Creative Commons Love: United Nations Photo on Flickr.com
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