Unmarried And Pregnant Journalist Barred By New Zealand Due To COVID Gets Help From Taliban

The Taliban, which overran Afghanistan, ousted the democratically elected government there and took power in August 2021 is not a group best known for its treatment of women.

Given their strict interpretation and implementation of the Sharia law, their view on extramarital sex is also not something that offers much hope.

But an "unmarried and pregnant" journalist who worked for Qatar-based Al Jazeera who is stranded in Afghanistan is now at the mercy of the Taliban, as her home country New Zealand is refusing to take her in due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

Charlotte Bellis

Charlotte Bellis, who was a reporter for Al Jazeera English had covered the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

She also had gained international attention by questioning Taliban leaders about their treatment of women and girls.

Bellis said she returned to Qatar in September and discovered she was pregnant with her partner, freelance photographer Jim Huylebroek, a contributor to The New York Times. She described the pregnancy as a "miracle" after earlier being told by doctors she couldn't have children. She is due to give birth to a girl in May.

But since it is illegal to be pregnant and unmarried in Qatar, Bellis kept her pregnancy secret and resigned from the network hoping to get back to her home country.

Stuff.co.nz

She repeatedly tried to get back to New Zealand in a lottery-style system for returning citizens but without success. The couple moved to Huylebroek's native Belgium, but she couldn't stay long, as she wasn't a resident.

She said the only other place the couple had visas to live was Afghanistan.

Bellis said she called senior Taliban contacts and was told she could give birth there.

"We're happy for you, you can come and you won't have a problem," Bellis said in an interview about what the Taliban had told her.

They also said, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine," she told the New Zealand Herald

"In my time of need, the New Zealand government said you're not welcome here.

"When the Taliban offers you -- a pregnant, unmarried woman -- safe haven, you know your situation is messed up."

Al Jazeera

Bellis, who once questioned the Taliban about what they would do to ensure the rights of women and girls, said it was "brutally ironic" she was now asking the same question of her own government.

Bellis said that pregnancy can be a death sentence in Afghanistan because of the poor state of maternity care and lack of surgical capabilities.

And why is the 14 day window instant justification for a rejection, with no regard for the applicant's situation? This policy is clearly written by someone who has never been pregnant. @chrishipkins @jacindaardern #miq #newzealand

¡ª Charlotte Bellis (@CharlotteBellis) January 28, 2022

Chris Bunny, the joint head of New Zealand's Managed Isolation and Quarantine system, told the Herald that Bellis's emergency application didn't fit a requirement that she travel within 14 days.

After going public with her situation, and involving lawyers, Bellis said she had been contacted by New Zealand officials who said her rejected application was under review.

The government's Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins said in a statement that he had asked officials to check whether the proper procedures had been followed in Bellis' case, "which appeared at first sight to warrant further explanation".

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