Did the Taliban poison 80 schoolgirls? Mysterious incidents haunt Afghan families

History has proven that the Taliban burned schools and sprayed poison on schoolgirls, and this group still commits such crimes,” Ali told the Star, speaking in Persian. Shamsia, 12, is in sixth grade at Faizabad school, another school in the same district. Women and girls have been deprived of their most basic rights under the rule of the Taliban, who returned to power in 2021. Women are no longer allowed to study at secondary schools or universities and are barred from visiting parks and sports clubs. In neighbouring Iran, there have been reports in the last three months of more than 1,000 students, mostly schoolgirls, getting sick from poisoning, possibly using toxic gas.