<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Exclusive:</span></strong><span> Jess Davis had been travelling Taliban-controlled Afghanistan for two weeks when her mum rang from Melbourne to call her out in a lie.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I had lied and told them I flew elsewhere," she told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Davis had good reason to bend the truth – and her family had good reason to worry.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/kidney-disease-australia-simon-biggs-stage-5-shock-diagnosis/5959bedf-d088-41af-8d75-31d8e1317df6" rel="" target="_blank" title="Shock discovery doctors missed could cost young Aussie family $40k"><strong><span>Shock discovery doctors missed could cost young Aussie family $40k</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She's among a growing number of Western tourists choosing to visit the Central Asian nation despite the threat of terrorist attacks, kidnappings and arbitrary detention.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia has it on a "do not travel" list and the Smartraveller website warns "no location in Afghanistan can be considered safe".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are no Australian officials or consular support in Afghanistan, and airports, flights and telecommunications can be disrupted without notice.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/afghanistan-travel-advice-safety-taliban-tourism-influencers/79639e6f-cb06-46f4-b2e4-b17456043d35" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite this, tourism to Afghanistan is on the rise.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Fewer than 700 tourists visited in 2021, the year the Taliban took over, but that figure rose to more than 9000 last year, according to officials.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While most Australian travel companies don't promote travel to Afghanistan, Flight Centre Travel Group global leisure chief executive James Kavanagh said some Aussies won't be deterred.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We do receive the occasional request and book a very small number of trips each year for those determined to go," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some are travel influencers, many of whom have been accused of "romanticising" Afghanistan and downplaying potential dangers for views or sponsorships.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But many more are adventure travellers like Davis, who decided to visit after befriending Afghan refugees while travelling in Pakistan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said getting a visa was easy and that she never felt unsafe, as tourists like herself "basically have the safety guarantee of the Taliban".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They want tourism, it looks good for improving their international image," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They do not want anything bad to happen to you. It doesn't look good for them."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tahera Nassrat, founder and chief executive of the Afghan Peace Foundation, said that's exactly why the sudden spike in Western tourism to her home nation is a problem.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Travelling to Afghanistan under the current regime risks normalising and legitimising a government that has been widely condemned for its ongoing human rights abuses," Nassrat said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And the idea that it's somehow a 'safe' place for tourism, especially for outsiders, is simply not accurate."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/woolworths-ai-job-interviews-jamie-rejected-exclusive/f3fc936d-4190-4f9b-b832-9648a8c8c9e7" rel="" target="_blank" title="Jamie wanted a job at Woolies. He claims he was rejected after two AI interviews"><strong><span>Jamie wanted a job at Woolies. He claims he was rejected after two AI interviews</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since the Taliban took power in 2021, many Afghan citizens have faced economic instability, fear of violence, and human rights violations under authoritarian rule.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Women and girls have become victims of what many have called a "gender apartheid", banned from receiving an education, holding most jobs, and even speaking in public.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But those profound ethical, political, and humanitarian concerns are rarely highlighted in Western tourists' curated social media posts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead, their experiences and content may become part of the Taliban propaganda machine, the money they spend may end up in the pockets of Taliban authorities, and they could be subject to surveillance, intimidation, or exploitation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That's especially true for women.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Though female tourists are afforded countless privileges and freedoms that have been stripped from Afghan women and girls, Nassrat said they're not truly safe in Afghanistan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Davis admitted that while she never felt unsafe, being the only woman in most public places made her "uncomfortable".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As did hearing the experiences of Afghan women she met, like a young guide who said the only ways Afghan women can make money is through "sewing or sex work".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All of her friends had fled the country and she was considering doing the same.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's hard when I go [to Afghanistan], have a really great time and get treated well, but then I get to leave and they can't," Davis confessed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since returning home to Melbourne, she's been trying to spread awareness about the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She shared a social media post about the issue, and mentioned fundraising efforts and supporting humanitarian organisations in her conversation with 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Nassrat said real solidarity with Afghan women comes by choosing not to participate in a system that oppresses them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead, she called on Westerners to advocate from afar, amplify Afghan voices, support refugee and aid organisations, and resist the normalisation of "a regime that has rendered millions of women invisible".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/hospital-parking-adelaide-nurses-paying-25-per-day/b3f13a5f-dfe8-4f5b-84db-51ebf2f7b346" rel="" target="_blank" title="Nurses forced to cop 'ridiculous' $65 parking fines every day just to get to work"><strong><span>Nurses forced to cop 'ridiculous' $65 parking fines every day just to get to work</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Davis said she wants her travels, which she shared on her personal Instagram account, to help dismantle negative stereotypes about Afghanistan and its people.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She rejected any suggestion that she or other tourists endorse or support the Taliban by visiting.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Afghanistan's obviously politically tricky, but I think it's important to separate people living their everyday life from the government," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You can't help everyone, the best you can do as a tourist is bring some attention to their stories."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Afghan refugees and members of the Afghan diaspora around the world have been working to bring attention to their lived experiences and those of the friends and family they had to leave behind for years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/afghanistan-tourism-refugee-condemns-influencer-travel-videos-taliban-propaganda-womens-safety-exclusive-interview/f587353a-c473-4ca3-8538-efabc0d97615" rel="" target="" title="Nassrat fled Afghanistan in the late 1990s"><span>Nassrat fled Afghanistan in the late 1990s</span></a><span> when the Taliban surged to power and, like so many others, cannot safely return today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"For Afghan refugees in Australia, many of whom carry the trauma of war, displacement, and family separation, watching foreign tourists walk freely through cities they were forced to flee can be profoundly painful," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While Westerners certainly play an important role in amplifying Afghan voices and supporting humanitarian efforts, tourists promoting Afghanistan as a holiday destination are likely to do more harm than good.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Especially because what tourists see and experience is controlled by the Taliban to tell the story that suits the regime.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Well-meaning tourists may unintentionally become tools of propaganda, helping to sanitise the image of a regime that continues to commit serious human rights abuses," Nassrat said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"While genuine curiosity about Afghanistan's culture and people is understandable, the current surge in tourism — particularly under the guise of 'changing perceptions' — has more harmful than helpful consequences."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So is there any way to engage in ethical tourism to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nassrat said no, but Davis had a different perspective.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/veterans-children-mental-health-report/5df1d29f-c2ea-4ab1-83eb-3858b39be3f3" rel="" target="_blank" title="Hannah's parents brought war home with them. Years on, she's still struggling"><strong><span>Hannah's parents brought war home with them. Years on, she's still struggling</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She argued that when so many Australians have been raised on images of Afghanistan as a war zone, ethical tourism that centres the lived experiences of Afghan citizens and acknowledges the privileges afforded to Western tourists can have a positive impact.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I know a few people who've just gone to make YouTube videos shooting guns with the Taliban and I think that is the complete wrong way to do tourism there," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But most people I met are going to bring some awareness and I think in that regard, it's, it's good.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Nothing can change if people don't know about it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Have you got a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter Maddison Leach at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:mleach@nine.com.au" target="_blank" title="mleach@nine.com.au"><strong><em><span>mleach@nine.com.au</span></em></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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