Human rights activists have condemned the recent arrest of Alia Malureen, a young blogger from Herat, arguing that the Taliban are using violence and repression to block women’s sources of income.
With bans on women’s education and employment, many Afghan women and girls have turned to online work and blogging as one of the few remaining avenues for survival. Activists say even this is now under assault.
“Today the Taliban are even stripping women of the right to be bloggers and imprisoning them,” said Zarifa Salangi, a women’s rights advocate. “They refuse to allow Afghan women to earn even the smallest income.”
She also criticized the Taliban’s double standards, noting that while foreign visitors, including women, freely film and photograph in Afghan cities under Taliban security, Afghan women face sweeping restrictions on every aspect of life.
Witnesses confirmed that Malureen was beaten and forcibly taken by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat last week, after being detained in a restaurant.
The Taliban’s ministry has repeatedly warned it is monitoring social media content and claims it has the “legal authority” to track down users it accuses of spreading “immorality” or “false beliefs.”
Despite this, the Taliban have neither clarified the reasons for Malureen’s arrest nor officially confirmed it, leaving her case shrouded in fear and uncertainty.
