After rejection from New Zealand, pregnant reporter takes help from Taliban
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In a column, which was published in The New Zealand Herald on Saturday, Charlotte Bellis said it was 'brutally ironic' that she'd once questioned the Taliban about their treatment of women and she was now asking the same questions about her own government
A pregnant journalist from New Zealand has got stranded in Afghanistan. The scribe had asked Taliban for help after her home country prevented her from returning.
New Zealand government seems to have not helped her due to a bottleneck of people in its Covid quarantine system.
In a column, which was published in The New Zealand Herald on Saturday, Charlotte Bellis said it was 'brutally ironic' that she'd once questioned the Taliban about their treatment of women and she was now asking the same questions about her own government.
In her column, Bellis, who is due to give birth to a girl in May, wrote, "When the Taliban offers you - a pregnant, unmarried woman - safe haven, you know your situation is messed up."
New Zealand's COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told the Herald that his office had asked the officials to check whether the proper procedures were followed in Bellis's case, "which appeared at first sight to warrant further explanation."
New Zealand has established a lottery-style system for returning citizens.
Chris Bunny, joint head, New Zealand's Managed Isolation and Quarantine system, told the Herald that Bellis's emergency application didn't fit a requirement that she travel within 14 days.
(With inputs from agencies)