Pregnant journalist finds 'safe haven' with the Taliban after she was locked out of New Zealand due to strict COVID-19 border controls

• Charlotte Bellis has been denied re-entry to New Zealand from Afghanistan.
• In the New Zealand Herald, the pregnant journalist wrote about being stranded by strict COVID-19 rules.

A five months pregnant New Zealand journalist is stranded in Afghanistan due to her home country's strict border controls.

Writing her story in the New Zealand Herald, Charlotte Bellis, from Christchurch, New Zealand, explained that she returned to her Jazeera work base in Doha, Qatar after visiting Afghanistan to cover the Taliban takeover.

Her pregnancy was a surprise, and she needed to return to New Zealand, as being an unmarried, pregnant woman in Qatar is grounds for imprisonment.

But when she applied for a managed isolation and quarantine spot, a necessary measure to re-enter the country, she couldn't get one.

A post shared by Charlotte Bellis (@charlottebellis)

Faced with being alone, she decided to reunite with her partner Jim, a photographer for the New York Times based in Belgium. However, as he was not a New Zealand citizen, he couldn't even enter the country, as tourists would only be allowed to enter New Zealand in April 2022.

So, the expecting couple reunited in the one place they both had work visas: Afghanistan.

Bellis spoke with senior Taliban contacts, explaining she was pregnant with her partner's baby. Which they said they "respected."

"When the Taliban offers you - a pregnant, unmarried woman - safe haven, you know your situation is messed up," Bellis wrote in her exclusive piece for the New Zealand Herald.

However, despite their support, Afghanistan was not a safe place for the expectant couple, as the country's healthcare system has been ravaged.

Bellis explained that she and her partner provided 59 documents explaining why they needed to return to New Zealand.

They handed over ultrasounds, bank statements, a letter from their lawyer, letters from obstetricians and gynaecologists saying how dangerous it would be to give birth in Afghanistan, and the way such stress could negatively impact the pregnancy.

Despite this, on January 24, they were contacted by officials who said their application was rejected due to flights being more than 14 days away from the application date, unavoidable when planes out of Kabul are scarce. Also, they deemed Bellis' medical situation not to be time-sensitive.

They applied again and were rejected.

"I thought, we are so much better than this. I thought back to August, and how brutally ironic it was, that I had asked the Taliban what they would do to ensure the rights of women and girls. And now, I am asking the same question of my own Government," Bellis wrote.

"I do not have a pathway home," she added in her piece.

Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins responded to Bellis' piece in The Herald, saying: "I'm unable to provide any further comment on MIQ at this stage as a court case against MIQ is being prepared and expected to be heard soon."

New Zealand a country of nearly 5 million people, has recorded just 52 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic and has favored strict lockdowns.

On January 30, the New Zealand Herald reported that another, currently unnamed, country has offered Bellis asylum.