Days after many of the female students who live in a dormitory at Kabul University say they were poisoned, some of them are leaving the residence, fearful for their safety.
The incident occurred on Saturday night, just ahead of a march by the women students to protest a string of deadly attacks against educational institutions and Hazaras.
“After this incident, we have not eaten dormitory food. Because we are afraid that they will poison us again. For this reason, I want to leave the dormitory,” explains Shafiqa, one of those leaving students. She also complains that the Taliban has taken students’ phones so they can’t take photos or videos of the situation within the dormitory.
Rukhsar, one of those who became ill after eating the dinner, believes the Taliban poisoned the students’ food, tells Zan Times, “I am sure that the Taliban did this because we had plans to protest in response to Friday’s attack on Kaaj educational center.”
“They may poison our food again. That’s why we want to get out of the dormitory,” says Hasnia, another student. Yet, she worries about how she will find money to live in a private dormitory, saying, “My family does not have the economic ability; our life is difficult.”
“All the female students in the dormitory were poisoned, but the dormitory officials who were supposedly eating the same food were not poisoned,” says Roshan, another student who was also poisoned.
The reason for the suspiciously sudden illness of so many students is not yet known. The Taliban attributed it to a lack of hygiene while Aliabad University Hospital refuses to comment on the matter. Students who went to private hospitals for treatment and talked later to Zan Times say medical personnel believed there was some kind of poison in the food.
According to some reports, one student has died as a result of this poisoning, but Zan Times cannot verify it.
In total, about 2,000 female students currently live in the girls’ dormitory of Kabul University. Most of them are Hazaras who have come from remote villages in Afghanistan to study.
