Afghanistan Schoolgirls Poisoned In Suspected Anti-Education Attack

By Mohammad Hamid

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, April 17 (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.

(Reporting by Mohammad Hamid; Writing by Jack Kimball, Editing by Rob Taylor and Sanjeev Miglani)

Earlier on HuffPost:

Comments

[IbrahimSapien]

04:44 PM on 04/24/2012

I used to be Muslim. I kinda owe thanks to the Taliban, the Saudis, and Bin Laden for showing me that Islam just isn't for me.

[Patriotology]

11:44 PM on 04/20/2012

Shhh, don't give the Republicans any ideas!

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:56 AM on 04/20/2012

Every time Talib joins his idol Osma, the world benefits.

[TroopAbn]

04:36 AM on 04/20/2012

We need to get all the women out of Afghanistan. Divide them between the NATO countries involved. Let the Taliban die a bunch of old men and Afghanistan will just go back to a baren wasteland. And no money to Karzai to fund is military.

[ddanimal]

11:27 PM on 04/19/2012

Conservatives around the world are all the same, the difference is merely a matter of degree.

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:55 AM on 04/20/2012

Some conservatives choose the path of democratic descent, some choose poisoning school girls and setting IED in markets and kindergartens. Absolutely.

The differences are of orders of magnitude, not 'degrees".

[Patriotology]

11:45 PM on 04/20/2012

Does it matter how you do it? Cutting funding can be just as effective at killing people as a bomb, it just takes longer.

[dzieczko]

11:20 PM on 04/19/2012

Give me the hotstick for the drone...

[anitaj]

09:46 PM on 04/19/2012

Slightly newer information:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/18/world/asia/afghanistan-girls-poisoned/index.html

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:53 AM on 04/20/2012

the facts remain the same.
"During the Taliban's rule... Afghan girls were not allowed to attend school, though the schools began reopening after the regime was toppled by the U.S.-led invasion."

[ebanks84]

09:42 AM on 04/19/2012

Men and their fear of women is a never-ending story for sure. They will never get over it in some countries.

[crankyCrackPot]

12:11 PM on 04/19/2012

You now what we need in this post-feminist society?

More Feminists!

[ebanks84]

01:18 PM on 04/19/2012

Not necessarily. Just more women that's all.

[msiletta]

08:15 AM on 04/19/2012

Re: Education for women was outlawed by the Taliban government from 1996-2001 as un-Islamic.

So it's better to kill or injure females instead?? The world has no place for religious fanatics.

[Patriotology]

11:46 PM on 04/20/2012

Tell that to our Religious fanatics.

[Noble]

07:17 AM on 04/19/2012

People forget it wasn't long ago we had to send our school children to school with armed National Guardsmen for escort.

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:46 AM on 04/19/2012

Luckily, we progressed. Unfortunately they have not.

[Patriotology]

11:49 PM on 04/20/2012

We've progressed, but not without our own zealots trying to return us to the days of women not being able to vote, kids toiling in factories and no restraints on capitalism. This is the same mindset we have in America, so many trying to return us to the glory years of racism and misogyny, that and being anti-science.

[Hammer0311]

06:48 AM on 04/19/2012

And our POTUS gave the brotherhood a billion and a half, Ladies watch your backs. This admin will sell you

[Beachi206]

08:38 AM on 04/19/2012

Are you for real? You must be living in an alternate world--one where limited intelligence is the norm

[fireart]

12:29 PM on 04/19/2012

Are you for real? You must be living in an alternate world-one where limited intelligence is the norm.

[BG-back]

09:25 AM on 04/19/2012

Bu$h would do that too.... Anything for "Strategic Depth" ;)

[KJ Pierson]

10:33 AM on 04/19/2012

Bush didn't try to make peace with them, he tried to kill them. Obama is trying to fold them in as an actual government.

[Hammer0311]

12:03 AM on 04/20/2012

We as a nation have suffered great loss of life. While we as individuals know some one who has. Our national identity is being stolen, from day one this President has continually made clear he did not like the USA, but hope to change it into his DREAM

[StephenBP]

06:37 AM on 04/19/2012

Conservative religious radicals opposed to female education were blamed for poisoning school girls.

Similarly, conservative religious radicals in the US try to poison the minds of both male and female students by teaching students to ignore science. They teach teenagers to use ineffective birth control methods from the bronze age to control passions that have evolved over a billion years or so. And they try to discredit science in favor of totally irrational hypotheses involving supernatural miracles.

Conservative religious radicals - fighting for ignorance around the globe.

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:48 AM on 04/19/2012

Many a fool run interference for Islamist fanatics who poison schoolgirls, due to multicultural indoctrination.

[SirenForSanity]

07:35 PM on 04/19/2012

I believe that would be multicultural resistance...not indoctrination. And, in the case specifically, the indoctrination is what the resistance is trying to perpetuate.

[fireart]

12:31 PM on 04/19/2012

You must be one because your post reads like one.

[straightuptalker]

06:23 AM on 04/19/2012

"Education for women was outlawed by the Taliban government from 1996-2001 as un-Islamic."

So, to prove a point, they'd actually poison their own children. This is beyond belief, and demonstrates how hateful, destructive and heartless these extremists are. These poor children will always suffer the consequences of demented minds that adhere to an antiquated, destructive and evil doctrine. Do these radicals really believe that's what their Allah subscribes to, and does their Qu'ran encourage this kind of senseless violence against innocent children? Unfortunately, our presence there hasn't changed a thing, and never will, and our returning mentally and physically wounded troops pay the price.

[AIIegroTroppo]

05:05 AM on 04/19/2012

It is amazing how many community college liberals display animalistic hatred for their fellow Americans and condescending tolerance for Al Qaeda and Taliban.
There's something clinical about it.

[SirenForSanity]

07:36 PM on 04/19/2012

How many?

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:49 AM on 04/20/2012

Too many.
Read hundreds of thousands of posts defending any and all entities ( Syria, Iran and individuals ( any Islamist who every lived) solely as long the former spout anti-American agitprop.
Then again, it's doubtful person can claim strong reading skills after denying this obvious fact.

[ddanimal]

11:24 PM on 04/19/2012

Logic fail.

[AIIegroTroppo]

11:51 AM on 04/20/2012

Since you're incapable of articulating your own opinion, I advise you sit this one out, dd.

[billhodges]

10:07 PM on 04/21/2012

Only to the logic of a Progressive.

[AIIegroTroppo]

04:59 AM on 04/19/2012

You can tell the quality of the site by the amount of interference being run for fanatical Islamists.