‘Felt I could have died’: Detained by Taliban, woman on solo Afghanistan trip recounts ordeal

Indian solo traveler Arunima I P, better known as Backpacker Arunima, sparked alarm after posting a distress message on social media, claiming to have been detained by the Taliban during her journey in Afghanistan. The 27-year-old from Kerala's Palakkad reportedly reached out to the Indian Embassy for assistance. She offered reassurance on Tuesday that she was safe.

In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Arunima claimed she was detained by the Taliban, who prohibit women from traveling unaccompanied in the country. In the video, she described being approached by individuals who refused to let her travel alone and demanded a special permit for every province. Arunima recounted spending hours in terror, insisting she felt she could have died.

She attempted to convince local authorities that she had been traveling alone since August 27, but was denied a permit since women are not permitted to travel alone under Taliban law. Arunima expressed her intention to depart for Uzbekistan, 500 kilometers away, raising concerns about crossing checkpoints along the way. She has been traveling solo for six years, exploring the world through hitchhiking and sharing real stories from the planet's less-explored locations.