Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register KABUL, March 27 (Reuters) – The Taliban told airlines in Afghanistan that women could not board domestic or international flights without a male attendant, two sources told Reuters on Sunday. The move comes after the Taliban withdrew from their previous commitment to open girls’ high schools, a coup that shocked many Afghans and sparked condemnation by humanitarian services and foreign governments. The United States on Friday canceled scheduled meetings with Taliban officials on key financial issues due to its decision on Wednesday. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Sources, who were not named for security reasons, said the Ministry of Virtue Dissemination and Prevention of Misery sent a letter to the airlines on Saturday informing them of the new restrictions. They added that unaccompanied women who had already booked tickets would be allowed to travel on Sunday and Monday. Some women with tickets were withdrawn at Kabul airport on Saturday, they said. Representatives of the Ministry of Virtue Dissemination and the Prevention of Misery and the Ministry of Culture and Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Taliban spokesman had previously said that women traveling abroad for study should be accompanied by a male relative. The Taliban say they have changed since their previous government from 1996 to 2001, when women were barred from education, work or leaving home without a male relative. They say they allow women their rights under Islamic law and Afghan culture. However, the closure of high schools, along with some restrictions on women at work and the requirement for women to be accompanied by long-distance travelers, has drawn criticism from many Afghan women and rights groups. It was not immediately clear whether air travel restrictions would allow any exceptions, for example in emergencies or for women without living male relatives in the country and whether they apply to foreigners or women with dual citizenship. The international community has so far not formally recognized the Taliban administration, and sanctions have crippled the country’s banking sector, which, combined with declining development funding, has plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Kabul Newsroom and Charlotte Greenfield Edited by Raissa Kasolowsky Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
