Kerala Vlogger Says Afghan Authorities in Bamyan Threatened Arrest Over Solo Travel

A Kerala-based woman travel vlogger has said that local authorities in Afghanistan's Bamyan province threatened to arrest her for travelling without a male companion, invoking a law that restricts women from moving alone.

In a fresh post on the Facebook page Backpacker Arunima, she said she was told that under the country's rules a woman cannot travel by herself. She also claimed that she had previously been refused a permit in Jalalabad for the same reason.

Recounting the sequence of events, the vlogger said she arrived in Bamyan at around 7 pm, where officials questioned her about her passport, visa and permit. She said the authorities informed her that she had broken the law and would be taken into custody, leaving her deeply frightened.

According to her account, she reached out to a man who had earlier assisted her in getting to Bamyan, and he intervened with the authorities on her behalf. She said the officials insisted she secure a permit and travel with a guide, and that she was ultimately permitted to continue towards her next destination after discussions.

"I had to go through all this only because I am a woman," she said, adding that she planned to cover roughly 500 kilometres towards the Uzbekistan border and expected to pass through several checkpoints along the route.

The vlogger said she was terrified and worried about her safety, which prompted her to post an Instagram story in the hope that someone would come to her aid. In an earlier post, she had appealed for help in contacting the Indian embassy, stating that she was in trouble in Afghanistan and was in Bamyan. She also shared what she described as a translation of an official communication from local authorities, which said she had been arrested by the "Mujahideen".

Her claims could not be independently verified.