Women lacking a male “guardian” are trapped by travel bans and legal limbo in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan under Taliban rule, women without a male guardian, known as a mahram, are facing severe restrictions on their movements and rights. Hasina, a divorced single mother, cannot send her teenage daughters to school due to the Taliban’s ban on high school education for girls, nor can she take them abroad for education, as they are unable to travel without a male relative to accompany them. Similarly, Wazhma, who cares for her sick mother and disabled sister, fears harassment or worse if she attempts to leave home at night, even to seek medical help. These women, alongside many others, find themselves in a legal and social limbo, constrained by the oppressive laws that confine them to their homes unless accompanied by a male guardian. The situation has become especially dire for those without male family members, whose daily lives are marked by uncertainty and fear.