Kerala woman vlogger says Afghan authorities threatened arrest over solo travel without male companion

A Kerala travel vlogger travelling alone in Afghanistan has claimed that authorities in Bamyan threatened to arrest her for travelling without a male companion or guide, citing the country’s rules governing women’s movement.

Arunima, who runs the Facebook page Backpacker Arunima, said in a social media post that officials in Bamyan told her she had violated the law by travelling alone.

“According to the law of this country, a woman cannot travel alone,” she said, adding that she had earlier been denied a permit in Jalalabad because she was travelling without a male companion.

Arunima claimed that officials in Bamyan warned her that she would be arrested for violating the requirement. She said the situation was eventually resolved after a man who had helped her during her journey spoke to the authorities.

The vlogger had earlier posted on social media claiming that she had been arrested by “Mujahideen” while travelling in Afghanistan and had appealed for help. She also shared what she described as an official communication relating to her detention.

In her subsequent account, however, Arunima said she had not been taken into custody but had been threatened with arrest by local authorities. Her claims about the incident could not be independently verified.

Arunima said she was travelling alone through Afghanistan and had encountered difficulties obtaining travel permits because she was a woman travelling without a male companion.

The incident comes against the backdrop of sweeping restrictions imposed on women in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Women have faced restrictions on movement, education, employment and access to public spaces, with rules and their enforcement varying across the country.