A pregnant New Zealand journalist denied re-entry to her home country to give birth due to strict Covid-19 regulations said she has been offered refuge by the Afghan Taliban, IgbereTV reports.
âThis just feels like such a breach of trust,â Charlotte Bellis told Radio New Zealand on Sunday from Kabul.
Bellis had been working for Al Jazeera in Afghanistan, but said she didnât realise she was pregnant until she was at the media companyâs headquarters in Doha, Qatar.
It is illegal to be pregnant and unmarried in Qatar, so Bellis kept her pregnancy secret as she prepared to return to New Zealand.
Upon being told she did not qualify for an exemption under New Zealandâs strict Covid border controls, Bellis said she called senior Taliban contacts and was told she could give birth there.
âWeâre happy for you, you can come and you wonât have a problem,â Bellis said in an interview about what the Taliban had told her.
They also said, âDonât worry. Everything will be fine,â she told the New Zealand Herald
âIn my time of need, the New Zealand government said youâre not welcome here.
âWhen the Taliban offers you â- a pregnant, unmarried woman â- safe haven, you know your situation is messed up.â
Bellis, who once questioned the Taliban about what they would do to ensure the rights of women and girls, said it was âbrutally ironicâ she was now asking the same question of her own government
