Pregnant journalist seeks help from Taliban after being rejected by her country New Zealand

Wellington: A pregnant journalist from New Zealand said that her country stopped her from coming back, so she asked the Taliban for help and now Afghanistan Got stuck in This female journalist named Charlotte Bellis said that New Zealand had refused her return to the country due to the capacity and constraints of its corona virus isolation system. In an article published on Saturday in The New Zealand Herald, Bayliss said it was a cruel irony that she had previously asked the Taliban questions about their treatment of women, but now she is asking the same question to her own government.

Bellis wrote, “When Taliban If you give shelter to you, a pregnant and unmarried woman, you know your situation will be confusing.” Chris Hipkins, the New Zealand minister responsible for its response to COVID-19, told the Herald that his office had informed officials about this. To find out whether they followed due process in the case of Bayliss.

Significantly, New Zealand has managed to keep the cases of corona virus infection low and despite the population of 5 million, the death toll due to corona virus in the country is only 52. Citizens returning from overseas travel in New Zealand have to stay in isolation in an army-run hotel for 10 days. Due to this, the number of citizens waiting to return to New Zealand from abroad has increased to thousands. Stories of citizens stranded abroad in dire circumstances have brought embarrassment to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her government, but Bellis’s situation stands out in particular.

Bayliss was reporting on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan last year while working for Al Jazeera. During this time he attracted international attention by questioning Taliban leaders about their treatment of women and girls. In her column on Saturday, Bayliss said she returned to Qatar in September to learn that she had become pregnant while living with her partner and freelance photographer Jim Hulebrock. Jim was working for ‘The New York Times’. Bellis described her pregnancy as a ‘miracle’, as doctors had previously told her that she could not have a child.

Currently, she is going to give birth to a baby girl in May. Extramarital sex is illegal in Qatar, leading Bellis to feel that she needed to leave Qatar. He then repeatedly tried to return to New Zealand through a lottery-style system involving the return of citizens, but without success. Bellis then resigned from Al Jazeera in November, and the couple moved to Heulebroek’s native country, Belgium, but she could not stay there as she was not a resident. The couple only had a visa to Afghanistan to stay. After this, Bayliss spoke to senior Taliban people, who told them that if she returned to Afghanistan, she would be fine.

Bellis said, “Taliban seniors told you guys to tell yourself that you are married and even after that if the matter escalates, then call us.” Bellis says that in Afghanistan she sent 59 documents to the New Zealand authorities. , but his application was rejected and the emergency withdrawal was denied. Bayliss said the pregnancy could have been a death sentence in Afghanistan because of the lack of proper health services. Bayliss said that after speaking to New Zealand lawyers, politicians and public relations people, his case appears to be moving forward once again, but he is still waiting for permission to return to his home country.

(input agency)