A woman in Kabul says Taliban restrictions have left her needing to invent a husband to try to secure travel papers for study abroad, despite a scholarship offer from a Catalan businessman for a journalism master's degree.
The woman, who writes chronicles for Ara, said she cried with joy when she heard about the scholarship, after the businessman learned of the limits the Taliban have placed on women continuing their education in Afghanistan.
But getting the documents needed for an overseas visa proved difficult. She went with her older brother to the Taliban Interior Ministry before 8am, where she found a long queue of young women, many with male relatives, also seeking papers for study abroad.
Officials first asked for her brother's ID and a written statement saying he allowed her to travel. After that, the Taliban stopped issuing certificates to women, saying they suspected many were trying to study abroad. One father protested that he had already given his daughter permission to travel, but a Taliban official replied, "Do you want your daughters to become prostitutes? We will not allow it."
She said the experience made clear that women in Afghanistan have no control over their own future, even when a father or brother supports them and they have a scholarship or meet the legal requirements.
In the same queue, another young woman said she had completed the biometric process and would collect her certificate in two days. She later admitted she had lied about being engaged to a man in the United Kingdom, and advised others to return to the ministry and say they were travelling to reunite with a fiancé abroad, or to present proof of residence for a man outside Afghanistan as if he were their future husband.
She said women are being forced to invent a husband who does not exist if they want to keep studying. The article says this leaves an entire generation at risk, with teachers, doctors, journalists, engineers and researchers never trained, and that no country can exclude half its population from education without affecting its future.