Kerala woman vlogger claims arrest by ‘Mujahideen’ in Afghanistan, then clarifies

A popular Keralite woman vlogger claimed to have been "arrested" by the "Mujahideen" in Afghanistan's Bamyan, only to later clarify that local authorities had threatened to arrest her.

She cited a law that requires women to travel with a male companion or guide, adding that she had earlier been denied a permit in Jalalabad because she was travelling alone.

The vlogger runs the Facebook page Backpacker Arunima and according to the account, she has been travelling in Afghanistan.

“According to the rules here, a woman is not allowed to travel alone. Whether she is a woman from this country or a foreign woman, the rule is the same. A few days ago, I had gone to Jalalabad to get a permit, but they did not give me one because they said a woman cannot travel alone. I requested them many times to give me the permit. They told me that they could not issue it without a man accompanying me, or that I would have to travel with a guide,” the vlogger wrote on Facebook.

HT couldn't independently verify her claims and there was no reaction from the Afghanistan government or any officials at the time of writing this report.

Vlogger narrates ordeal

Narrating the ordeal, she said that she reached Bamyan at around 7 pm, where people started approaching her and asking for her visa and passport, seeing that she was alone.

“The moment she got out of the vehicle, people started approaching her, as women would not normally be outside alone at night under the rules there. They asked to see her visa and passport, which she showed them. They then asked where she was staying. She told them that she had not decided yet and would find a safe place to stay. However, they were not willing to leave her alone.”

Recalling her experience, Arunima said her hands and legs started shaking when she was told that she had violated the law and was going to be arrested. She added that she tried communicating with them through Google Translate and even told them to deport her.

“According to their rules, I had violated the law. Then they told me that they were going to arrest me. I immediately informed my boyfriend about what was happening. My hands and legs started shaking. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. At the same time, I was still trying to communicate with them through Google Translate. I asked them to deport me. They told me that I had violated the rules and that they would arrest me.”

Permit denied for travelling solo

The vlogger said she then contacted the man who helped her reach Bamyan, who later arrived and helped her navigate the situation, adding that the reason she had not obtained permits for each province was that they were not issued to her as she was travelling “without a man”.

“My ‘crime’ was simply that I had travelled alone as a woman in a country where women are not allowed to travel alone. I also had not obtained the required permits for each province because they would not issue those permits to me without a man or a guide.”

“The person who had brought me here had already left, but he had taken my phone number. I immediately contacted him and told him what was happening. He said he was a little far away but would come as quickly as possible. He came back and spoke to them, asking them to wait until he arrived. Until he came, my heart was beating extremely fast. I was completely frozen and didn’t know what to do. No matter what I said, they kept repeating that I had violated the rules.”

Calling the situation “not normal”, she said that people there could not simply go to the police or jail and that many individuals had considerable authority to make decisions.

“Here, their decisions are their rules. It’s not like a normal situation where you simply deal with the police or go to a jail. The people here have a lot of authority to make decisions. That doesn’t mean every person here is Taliban. There are many ordinary, kind people here too. But the authorities are the ones making these decisions. I was holding that man’s hands and begging him to help me so that I wouldn’t be arrested.”

She added that she would be leaving the country the following day but said that until she reached the border, she felt she would have to travel holding her breath.

“Tomorrow, I am leaving from here towards the Uzbekistan border. It is around 500 kilometres from here, and there will be checkpoints along the way. Every time I am stopped and checked, I may have to lie again just to get through. Until I reach the border, I feel like I will have to travel holding my breath.”

‘In trouble in Afghanistan’

A day earlier, the vlogger shared what she said was a translation of an official communication from the local authorities according to which she has been arrested by mujahideen in Afghanistan and sought help to connect to the Indian embassy.

"I am in trouble in Afghanistan. I am in Bamyan," she had said.