Two men on a motorbike hurled acid into the faces of three teenage girls walking to school in the Herat province in western Afghanistan on Saturday, said an official, according to CNN.
The girls, ages 16 to 18, are students at one of the largest girls’ schools in Herat city, the provincial capital, said local education official Aziz-ul-Rahman Sarwary.
All three girls were admitted to a nearby hospital in Herat city. Two of the girls were in critical condition from injuries to their faces by the acid assault, said hospital head Jamal Abdul Naser Akhundzada.
“This is the punishment for going to school,” the men told the girls after dumping acid on them, according to Akhundzada.
Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial police chief, said police were working very hard to find the attackers.
Schools attacked: Girls’ education is a prime target
Schools and girls’ education in particular have been targeted by the Taliban, according to a report to the United Nations’ Security Council.
Schools were attacked or threatened in 163 documented incidents, including 28 incidents where explosives were found on school premises in 2014. A total of 94 incidents were attributed to the Taliban and other armed groups, one to international forces and 68 incidents that could not be attributed.
Girls’ education is a prime target of threats and violence. Students have been attacked on their way to school. Students have received threatening leaflets and female teachers have been intimidated, the U.N. report said.
At least 469 Afghan schools remained closed due to lack of security, CNN reported.
Afghanistan has among the lowest literacy rates in the world. An estimated 31 percent of Afghan adults can read. Literacy among women is lower, with about 18 percent able to read, although literacy rates vary by region.