Dozens of women have been prevented from boarding recent flights – including some overseas flights – by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers because they were not traveling with a male guardian.
Some of the disenfranchised women who arrived at Kabul International Airport on Friday were dual nationals returning to their homes in other countries – including some from Canada, according to two Afghan airline officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Women have been denied flights to Islamabad, Dubai and Turkey on both Kam Air and state-owned Ariana Airline.
Last month, the Taliban banned Afghan women from traveling more than 48 miles without a male guardian based on the group’s interpretation of Islam.
Women across Afghanistan say guardianship rules are also being imposed on a much larger scale. According to the Wall Street Journal, those requirements include a male relative to accompany them on elementary tasks, such as B. when entering government buildings, visiting a doctor or driving a taxi.
Afghan women chant and hold up protest signs during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan today. AP Photo/Mohammed Shoaib Amin
Women across Afghanistan say guardianship rules are being imposed on a much larger scale. AP Photos/Massoud Hossaini
On Saturday, some women traveling alone were allowed to board an Ariana Airlines flight to western Herat province. However, by the time their permission was granted, they had missed their flight.
The latest attack on women’s rights in Afghanistan comes just days after the all-male, religiously-motivated government broke its promise to allow girls to return to school after sixth grade.
The Taliban’s refusal to open education to all Afghan children has infuriated large sections of the country’s population. Dozens of Afghan girls gathered in Kabul on Saturday to demand the right to go to school.
The government recently broke its promise to allow girls to return to school after sixth grade. AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, file
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