Instagram vs Reality: How travel influencers are selling Afghanistan’s beauty while Taliban erases women from public life

An Afghan woman (C) records videos with her phone as Taliban security personnel celebrate the third anniversary of Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in front of the former US Embassy in Kabul on August 14, 2024.

When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, after the US withdrawal, life changed drastically for Afghan women. Since then, the Taliban has erased women from nearly all public spaces, banning them from schools, universities, jobs, parks, gyms, and even public prayer or poetry recitals. Close to 100 edicts now govern their lives, amounting to what many call “gender apartheid.”

Yet, while Afghan women are being silenced, another surprising trend has emerged: tourism in Afghanistan is booming.

Influencers sell a ‘different Afghanistan’

Travel influencers from the US, Europe, and Australia are flocking to the country, often portraying it as safe and welcoming. Their videos show waterfalls, bustling bazaars, striking mosques, and friendly encounters with locals, sometimes even Taliban fighters.

One viral clip by @iampocoloco begins with a fake hostage scene before cutting to scenic landscapes. German influencer Margaritta told NBC News she “felt fantastic” and was “treated like a queen,” adding that the strict laws on women meant they were “valued as precious.”

British travel vlogger Zoe Stephens echoed that her time in Afghanistan showed “a lot more nuance” than global media portrays. Australian influencer Chloe Baradinsky called her trip “an incredible experience,” saying locals were kind and that she felt safe.

Canadian influencer Nolan Saumure joked in a video titled Afghanistan Has Too Much Testosterone that the country is “all dudes, bro-ing the f**k down.” Meanwhile, Keith Sinclair told CNN his expectations had been “blown out of the water.”

Their content has helped drive tourist numbers up. According to Deputy Minister of Tourism Qudratullah Jamal, Afghanistan saw nearly 9,000 foreign visitors last year, including 3,000 in the first quarter of this year alone.

Taliban’s motives and influencer gains

So why is this happening? For some influencers, it’s about money. “Posting videos there is a good way for an influencer to build a bigger following,” Don Broussard (@thebeardedbackpacker) told UnHerd. Popular clips can bring in $1,000 or more.

For the Taliban, influencers are useful for image-building. “The Taliban wanted as many influencers to visit as possible,” said Curt Jones, a Newcastle-born traveller, adding that “their assumption was that almost everyone was” creating content.

A dangerous ‘white-washing’

But many Afghans and activists say this trend is deeply troubling. Orzala Nemat, Afghan activist and visiting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told NBC News: “What we’re seeing instead is a curated, sanitised version of the country that conveniently erases the brutal realities faced by Afghan women under Taliban rule.”

She added that smiling women in influencer videos should “never be confused with contentment or consent.” Nemat called it “neocolonial tourism dressed up as adventure.”

British-based Afghan researcher Nazifa Haqpal told RFE/RL: “These videos are dangerous and distort the truth. The truth under the Taliban’s cruel rule is dark, bleak, and ugly.”

Afghan women themselves say influencers are helping the Taliban whitewash oppression. “Conditions for us are worsening with each passing day,” Arezo, a young woman in Bamiyan, told Radio Azadi.

‘Beauty should not blind us to injustice’

Since 2021, the Taliban has banned girls from secondary schools and universities, stopped women from working in NGOs or the UN, and restricted nearly all aspects of their public life. Even the UN recently warned that Afghan women face “total exclusion” from society.

As Afghan journalist Zahra Nader, who leads Zan Times, said: “Women in Afghanistan have been deprived of their basic human rights.”

Manizha Bakhtari, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Austria, summed it up in an interview with Fox News: “While Afghanistan is breathtakingly beautiful, beauty should not blind us to injustice. Travel should open hearts, not close eyes.”