Taliban blocked unaccompanied women from flights: officials

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers refused to allow dozens of women to board several flights, including some overseas, because they were travelling without a male guardian, two Afghan airline officials said Saturday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from the Taliban, said dozens of women who arrived at Kabul’s international airport Friday to board domestic and international flights were told they couldn’t do so without a male guardian.

Some of the women were dual nationals returning to their homes overseas, including some from Canada, according to one of the officials. Women were denied boarding on flights to Islamabad, Dubai and Turkey on Kam Air and the state-owned Ariana Airline, said the officials.

The order came from the Taliban leadership, said one official.

By Saturday, some women traveling alone were given permission to board an Ariana Airlines flight to western Herat province, the official said. However, by the time the permission was granted they had missed their flight, he said.

The airport’s president and police chief, both from the Taliban movement and both Islamic clerics, were meeting Saturday with airline officials.

“They are trying to solve it,” the official said.

It was still unclear whether the Taliban would exempt air travel from an order issued months ago requiring women traveling more than 45 miles (72 kilometers) to be accompanied by a male relative.

Taliban officials contacted by The Associated Press did not respond to multiple requests for comment.