WUNRN
AFGHANISTAN - GIRLS POISONED BY
CONTAMINATED WATER AT HIGH SCHOOL - MAY HAVE BEEN ATTACK ON FEMALE
EDUCATION
By
Mohammad Hamid - April 17, 2012
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - About 150 Afghan schoolgirls were poisoned on
Tuesday after drinking contaminated water at a high school in the country's
north, officials said, blaming it on conservative radicals opposed to female
education.
Since the 2001 toppling of the Taliban, which banned education for women and
girls, females have returned to schools, especially in Kabul.
But periodic attacks still occur against girls, teachers and their school
buildings, usually in the more conservative south and east of the country, from
where the Taliban insurgency draws most support.
"We are 100 percent sure that the water they drunk inside their classes
was poisoned. This is either the work of those who are against girls' education
or irresponsible armed individuals," said Jan Mohammad Nabizada, a
spokesman for education department in northern Takhar province.
Some of the 150 girls, who suffered from headaches and vomiting, were in
critical condition, while others were able to go home after treatment in
hospital, the officials said.
They said they knew the water had been poisoned because a larger tank used
to fill the affected water jugs was not contaminated.
"This is not a natural illness. It's an intentional act to poison
schoolgirls," said Haffizullah Safi, head of Takhar's public health
department.
None of the officials blamed any particular group for the attack, fearing
retribution from anyone named.
The Afghan government said last year that the Taliban, which has been trying
to adopt a more moderate face to advance exploratory peace talks, had dropped
its opposition to female education.
But the insurgency has never stated that explicitly and in the past acid has
been thrown in the faces of women and girls by hardline Islamists while walking
to school.
Education for women was outlawed by the Taliban government from 1996-2001 as
un-Islamic.