On May 23, 2012, over 120 Afghan schoolgirls and three teachers were poisoned in northern Takhar. This is the second attack since April, and both accounts are blamed on radical conservatives against the education of girls.
A spokesman for the Takhar police said, "The Afghan people know that the terrorists and the Taliban are doing these things to threaten girls and stop them [from] going to school. That's something we and the people believe. Now we are implementing democracy in Afghanistan, and we want girls to be educated, but the government's enemies don't want this."
The Afghan girls were poisoned by an unidentified toxic substance used to contaminate the air in classrooms at the school. Five girls released from the hospital, along with their classmates, complained of headaches, nausea, and dizziness. Others were left unconscious. On April 17, 150 girls in the same providence drank contaminated water, which forced several to be hospitalized. The Afghanistan Ministry of Education announced that 550 schools closed in 11 provinces with Taliban influence.