Kochi (Keralam) [India], September 15 (ANI): An Indian travel vlogger, Arunima, who claimed to have been detained by unknown gunmen while travelling through Afghanistan, is now safe and was released after being held for several hours.
Arunima said that she arrived in Bamyan around 7:00 PM after hitchhiking on a truck. Upon arrival after dark, local residents and authorities approached her, noting that women are not permitted to travel alone at night under local rules. After checking her passport and visa, officials requested her travel permit.
Arunima explained that she had previously attempted to obtain a permit in Jalalabad, but authorities refused to issue one because she was travelling without a male companion (mahram) or an official guide. To navigate earlier checkpoints between Kabul and Bamyan, she had claimed to be travelling with a companion from Germany who was meeting her elsewhere.
In a Facebook post, the travel vlogger shared, “This evening, I hitchhiked on a truck and came to a place called Bamyan. By the time I reached here, it was around 7 PM and already dark. The moment I got out of the vehicle, people here started coming towards me because, according to the rules here, a woman would not normally be outside alone at night.”
Detailing the alleged incident, Arunima said that two men questioned Arunima through a translation app and inspected her documents while she was charging her phone in the local hall where she stayed. Realising she had been travelling solo throughout Afghanistan since entering on August 27, they informed her that she was in violation of the law and faced immediate arrest.
“When they saw my visa, they realised that I had entered this country on the 27th of last month. That meant that I had been travelling alone in this country all these days. According to their rules, I had violated the law. Then they told me that they were going to arrest me,” she said in the post.
Panicked, Arunima contacted an English-speaking local who had assisted her earlier in the evening. He returned to negotiate on her behalf as authorities insisted she pay a 10,000 Afghani fine, obtain a permit, and hire an official guide.
Arunima requested to be allowed to leave the country immediately for Uzbekistan. Following extensive negotiations, the authorities eventually agreed to allow her to travel toward the border without purchasing the permit.
“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. After some time, the man arrived. We explained everything to them. Fortunately, he could speak English. I literally begged him, holding his hands and asking him to understand my situation. He spoke to them on my behalf, but they still wouldn’t agree,” she said.
The post further noted, “They also demanded 10,000 Afghanis for the permit, and I would have to pay additional money for the guide. I told them that I was leaving the country and travelling to Uzbekistan. I told them that I was ready to leave Afghanistan and that I didn’t want to stay here anymore. They said that because I had been travelling without the required permits for so many days, I would have to pay money before I could leave or continue anywhere. After talking with them for a long time, we finally reached an agreement. They eventually told me that I could leave for the next country without the permit. Here, their decisions are their rules,” she said.
"My 'crime' was simply that I had travelled alone as a woman in a country where women are not allowed to travel alone", the travel vlogger said. (ANI)
"My crime was traveling alone...": Indian travel vlogger Arunima 'safe' after brief detention by gunmen in Afganistan
