A video of social media influencer Sharanya Iyer during her visit to Afghanistan has gone viral on Instagram. In the video, the Indian travel vlogger documents her trip and shares her experience of travelling as a woman in the Taliban-ruled nation.
The video has resonated with many social media users, particularly as Afghanistan has frequently made headlines for laws imposed by the Taliban that have severely restricted the rights and freedoms of women and girls.
Also Read | Indian influencer Sharanya Iyer opens up about travelling to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
Who is Sharanya Iyer?
Sharanya Iyer, 35, also known as ‘TrulyNomadly’, quit her corporate job in 2019 to travel full-time.
She currently has over 500,000 followers on Instagram, where she regularly posts travel content from Afghanistan, different parts of India and destinations around the world.
Her videos from Afghanistan have garnered widespread attention on social media.
What is the video about?
Sharing the video featuring visuals from her trip to the Taliban-controlled nation, Iyer wrote in the caption: “If a country’s government is fundamentally broken, do its citizens deserve to be economically starved by the rest of the world?”
“It is easy to look at a headline, draw a moral line in the sand, and declare a total boycott. It feels clean. It feels like taking a stand. But when you look past the geopolitics and look at the actual human geography on the ground, that clinical, black-and-white view falls apart. At least, it did for me,” she added.
Iyer said people often separate a country’s government from its culture and citizens when travelling elsewhere.
“We live in a world where state overreach, military aggression, and civil liberties violations are widespread. Yet, as global citizens and travellers, we consistently give ourselves the grace to separate a nation’s regime from its culture, its food, and its everyday people,” she wrote.
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“We don’t punish an ordinary citizen for the decisions made in their capital city, except it seems, when it comes to Afghanistan. I’m open to learning, unlearning and hearing your thoughts on this though,” she added.
Also Read | If only Afghan women were men, we’d care more
Reaction of netizens to the viral video
Against the backdrop of the Taliban’s restrictions on women, Iyer’s video documenting her visit to Afghanistan has attracted significant attention online.
“You are so brave… I wouldn’t dare to go,” one Instagram user commented.
“Don’t know how u gathered courage to visit this country!! Kudos to ur spirit to travel and explore,” another user wrote.
Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan
The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces and the collapse of the previous government.
Since returning to power, the Taliban has imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including banning them from secondary and higher education, limiting their access to employment in several sectors, and curbing their participation in public life.
