Date: 26/10/1401 Local sources in Herat report that the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Amr bil Maroof) has issued a directive to travel agencies in the province, prohibiting them from selling airline tickets to women who are not accompanied by a male guardian (mahram). These sources told Afghanistan International that the directive includes threats of serious consequences for agencies that do not comply. Under this policy, women are not permitted to travel by air without a male escort, effectively restricting their freedom of movement.

The Taliban’s directive barring women from purchasing airline tickets without a male guardian represents a clear act of gender-based discrimination and mobility restriction, reinforcing their broader policy of gender segregation and control over women’s autonomy. This rule not only violates fundamental rights but also deepens women’s isolation from education, employment, healthcare, and safety—especially those who need to flee abuse, access medical care, or travel for professional reasons.

The Taliban also instructed drivers traveling between provinces to refrain from transporting women without a male guardian. They prohibit adult women and the sick from crossing borders without a male guardian at checkpoints in Torghundi, Kandahar, Paktia, and other provinces. In various cities, especially Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, and Jalalabad, the Taliban has also instructed rickshaws and taxi drivers to refrain from transporting women without a male guardian.

By placing enforcement responsibilities on private travel agencies and threatening punishment for non-compliance, the Taliban are outsourcing their repressive gender policies to the private sector, embedding surveillance and control into everyday services.