In an era where social media travel feeds are saturated with picture-perfect photos, Indian travel content creator and filmmaker Sharanya Iyer — also known as 'TrulyNomadly' — chose a path less travelled. Speaking to Hindustantimes.com, the 36-year-old opened up about her recent two-week journey to Afghanistan, offering a raw, unfiltered look into a nation rarely traversed by tourists.

Sharanya Iyer with a Taliban soldier in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Sharanya, who quit her corporate job in 2019 to travel full-time, made it clear that her intention was never to present a romanticized or sanitized version of the country. Speaking to Hindustantimes.com, she reflected on the vast gap between how Afghanistan treats its own women versus how tourists are treated.

Women have been banned from attending secondary schools and universities, barred from most jobs, restricted from travelling long distances without a male guardian, and required to follow strict dress codes. They have also been excluded from many public spaces, including parks, gyms and beauty salons.

"One thing I consciously didn't want to do was return from Afghanistan and present only a whitewashed version of the country. A lot of travellers—especially from Western countries—have been criticised for only showing the positive side," Sharanya told Hindustantimes.com.

"Does Afghanistan have beautiful places? Absolutely. Are the people warm and hospitable? Absolutely. But does that mean we stop talking about what's happening to women there? I believe the answer is no."

Asked why she chose to travel to Afghanistan — a country facing boycott on several fronts because of its regime, the travel vlogger explained that her perspective on travelling to heavily sanctioned nations was first reshaped during a month-long solo backpacking trip through Iran in 2022.

(Also read: Afghan women hit by Taliban education ban go online to pursue dreams)

Her experience in Iran taught her to separate a country’s citizens from its ruling regime — a philosophy she carried with her when planning her trip to Afghanistan. She also sought a sense of genuine discovery that she felt had been lost in modern, over-documented tourist hubs.

Architectural landmarks and archaeological heritage formed the core of Sharanya’s itinerary. She travelled to the valley of Bamiyan in the Hindu Kush mountains, exploring the empty niches where the world's tallest Buddha statues stood before being destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

Besides Kabul and Bamiyan, she also went to Panjshir Valley, Ghazni and Kandahar, which is the stronghold of the Taliban.

The entire 12-to-13-day trip cost her approximately ₹2.1 lakh, an amount that covered flights, accommodation, meals, fuel, and entry tickets. Because she was filming her journey, she hired a private guide and driver.

(Also read: Women’s rights crisis in Afghanistan is ongoing humanitarian calamity)

“The Taliban, in the last year or more, has mandated travelling with a guide for tourists because you need permits to move between every province. My passport had to be shown, and all the permits had to be arranged before I landed in Afghanistan,” the travel vlogger explained.

“You have to have your route planned in advance, and you need a guide because they're the ones who apply for the permits. At every checkpoint, they show the documents, and if the Taliban decides to call you out of the car, they'll have a brief chat with you before letting you go. I had a local guide and a driver throughout my trip to travel between the provinces.”

“So, if you're not bound by the laws that Afghan women are bound by, you'll see the warmth of the people. You'll see them going out of their way to host you… The Afghan people are very hospitable. They love Indians. They won’t let you pay,” said the 36-year-old.

However, most of the women’s rights violations portrayed in the media are true. Women are not allowed to run businesses, can’t step out without being accompanied by a male relative, and as such have very little personal freedom.

“Women aren't allowed to go to school beyond the sixth grade. I did see girls on their way to school in their uniforms, but they were young girls. Women are not allowed into universities anymore,” she revealed.

“In Kabul, I still saw women. They wore burqas but you could see them walking to the market in pairs. Outside of Kabul, I did not see any women unless they were accompanied by men.”

The Taliban strictly enforces the mahram rule, requiring women to be accompanied by a close male relative when in public spaces. This has severely restricted the movement of women in Afghanistan.

During her two-week stay, Sharanya saw parks and public places completely devoid of women. Men, on the other hand, could travel freely.

“Kabul is known to be a little more forward compared to the rest of Afghanistan. I went to a restaurant there at night where women were dining together with men. But everywhere else I travelled, there was a separate section for men and a separate section for women. Since I was with my guide, I sat in the men's section rather than the women's section,” said Sharanya.

Many locals quietly approached her, asking for assistance with visas to India or seeking financial support to help them relocate their families. The desperation was especially profound among fathers who feared for the futures and education of their young daughters.

She revealed the story of one local who told her he was saving money so he could escape Afghanistan with his two daughters. The Indian influencer did not reveal the local’s name or location out of concern for his safety.

(Also read: Taliban were ‘catching and killing us’: Afghan intel officer who fled to Delhi on last flight from Kabul)

At the same time, she observed that many locals support the Taliban for bringing a sense of order to a war-torn country.

“For everything negative the Taliban has done—and there is a great deal that's negative—they have also brought a degree of stability after decades of war,” she said.

“Afghanistan went through the Soviet invasion, years of civil conflict and then the American presence. People have lived with instability for decades.

“When I spoke to locals, many of them told me that, for the first time in years, they weren't living with bombs, violence or constant war.”

“It's easy for people outside Afghanistan to ask, "Why don't the men rise up? Why don't they fight the Taliban? Why aren't they defending women? But it's not that simple,” Sharanya continued.

“The Taliban is immensely powerful now and has deep financial backing. As outsiders, especially if we're feminists, it's very easy to condemn the Taliban—and I certainly do. But I also can't ignore what ordinary Afghans told me.”

Why Afghanistan boycott is not the answer

Despite the inherent political risks and the potential that her critical social media commentary might restrict her from returning to Afghanistan, Sharanya Iyer stands firmly against the idea of completely boycotting or isolating the country. She believes that tourism provides a vital economic lifeline to ordinary citizens who are completely disconnected from the wealth of the ruling regime.

However, she issued a strong word of caution to aspiring travelers, noting that Afghanistan is not a standard vacation spot and requires a high level of travel experience and a willingness to handle extreme logistical uncertainty.

"I think the biggest takeaway for me is that you cannot boycott an entire country because of its regime, however horrific its laws may be. If we completely stop visiting places like Afghanistan, I believe we're further isolating ordinary people and taking away whatever little opportunity they have to earn a livelihood," Sharanya Iyer concluded.

"It's a challenging destination, and you need to understand the risks before deciding to go. But once you're there, I think it's important to keep an open mind and remember that you're travelling for the people as much as the place."