Orzala, from Rusi, said that although influencers with Western passports “wander freely, pose photos and gain renown online”, these privileges are refused to Afghan women, which are excluded from schools, jobs or even freely in public without being accompanied by male guards.
There are also moral and ethical dilemmas, she added, because the profits of tourism are likely to legitimize indirectly and financially maintain a regime that has institutionalized “gender apartheid”.
As for the videos of influencers who show Afghan women smiling in the background, Orzala said: “This should never be confused with contentment or consent to current reality.”
“It is not a cultural exchange; it is neocolonial tourism disguised as an adventure,” she added.
Visitors in Afghanistan are still in the thousands of people, while the country torn apart by war is trying to rebuild its image under strict Islamic laws and customs managed by the Taliban. Nearly 9,000 foreigners visited in 2024, while nearly 3,000 people visited in the first three months of this year, according to a report by the Associated Press.
In addition to travel influencers, some tourist companies create breathtaking videos that have since been reshided by Taliban accounts on social networks in order to attract more visitors.
A bizarre video of 50 seconds made by the vlogger Yosaf Aryubi begins with a strange scene of three people with bags above the head, presumed to be held hostage by the men standing behind them, who are dressed like the Taliban with rifles hanging on their shoulders.
“We have a message for America,” said one of the armed men, before removing the bag from one of the hostages, to reveal a smiling tourist who gives a boost and says: “Welcome to Afghanistan!”
The video then cuts the male tourists plunging into panoramic lakes and walking in waterfalls, and even holding M4 rifles which turn out to be aftershocks.
Not all influencers see Afghanistan in this way. In another video, YouTuber Nolan Saumure, whose SEAL channel on Tour has 650,000 subscribers, recognizes that he only interacted with men during his trip there.
In a 35 -minute video entitled “Afghanistan has too much testosterone”, Saumure turns the camera to show a large crowd of Afghan men who trying it.
“It’s a full celebration of sausages here,” he says.