KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban’s morality police have reportedly detained a female vlogger in western Herat province amid tightening restrictions on media and online activity across Afghanistan.
Local sources told KabulNow that the vlogger, identified as Allia Melawrin, was taken into custody on Thursday while eating at a restaurant in Herat city. The sources said she was beaten during the arrest and transferred to the city’s central prison.
The Taliban authorities have not commented on the case. Sources said Melawrin had used her social media platform to promote shops, clinics, restaurants, education centers and other businesses, earning an income to support her family.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have banned most women from working, leaving many female-headed households without a source of income amid widespread poverty and food insecurity.
The detention comes as Taliban authorities widen their crackdown on the media and online platforms. In recent weeks, local authorities in Herat ordered television stations and digital creators, including YouTubers, to stop broadcasting images of living beings. The ban, now enforced in more than 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, has forced many TV stations to either shut down or switch to radio-only programming.
While local vloggers and content creators face mounting restrictions and the risk of arrest, foreign vloggers and influencers continue to travel to Afghanistan. Many have shared videos and photographs from across the country, sometimes appearing alongside Taliban officials and fighters, without facing similar restrictions.
