Female tour guides in Afghanistan lead women-only groups as some travelers return

(30 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY: NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Kabul, Afghanistan – 28 May 2025
1. Various female tourists take a selfie in front of Darul Aman Palace
2. Close-up of tote bag reading (English) ‘Travel to Afghanistan with female guides’
3. Various of Somaya Moniry, tour guide, talking to tourists

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Kabul, Afghanistan – 4 June 2025

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Somaya Moniry, tour guide:
“Whenever I learned about an application by the name of ‘couch surfing’, I installed that application and after that I received guest requests.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Kabul, Afghanistan – 28 May 2025
5. Various of Moniry talking to tourists

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Kabul, Afghanistan – 4 June 2025

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Somaya Moniry, tour guide:
“It was that time, for the first time, to meet foreigners, to meet travellers. And that time I realized that this can be like, if I show this city to foreigners, if I show them around to give them information, this can be tour guiding.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Kabul, Afghanistan – 28 May 2025

7. Various of entrance reading (English) ‘Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage at the National Museum of Afghanistan’
8. Various of Moniry and tourists looking at artefacts inside the museum
9. Various of museum artefacts

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Kabul, Afghanistan – 4 June 2025

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Somaya Moniry, tour guide:
"Whenever I myself saw what the society says about Afghanistan or the media says about Afghanistan, all this negativity. It’s not all that. Yeah, there are, we can say they’re both. Also the negativity and also the positivity, both of them exist. But the focus on the positivity was less and not all people talked about it.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Kabul, Afghanistan – 28 May 2025

11.Various of Moniry and tourists walking around the National Museum of Afghanistan, artefacts
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Suzanne Sandral, tourist:
"Oh, I think it’s wonderful. I’ve wanted to come here for so long, like 1966, when everybody else was coming and I was too busy having babies. So to finally get the chance to come to this country which has such an amazing history, I think is a real privilege."
13. Various of female tour group meeting with young Afghans inside museum

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Suzanne Sandral, tourist

"No, it’s not what I expected at all. I expected to feel rather fearful, I expected to be given a lot of accusatory looks, not at all.”
15. Various of Sandral taking pictures with Afghan women inside the museum

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Suzanne Sandral, tourist
"Afghanistan of course has its own sad history and we’re led to believe that it’s a lot worse than it actually is today. Now I’m not talking about politics, I’m not talking about economics, I’m just talking about people to people.”
17. Various of tourists walking around the National Museum and artefacts

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Kabul, Afghanistan – 4 June 2025

18. Tour leader at Koryo Tours, Zoe Stephens, sitting inside a cafe
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Zoe Stephens, tour leader at Koryo Tours:
20. Various of Taliban at a checkpoint checking cars inside Kabul

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Zoe Stephens, tour leader at Koryo Tours:

ASSOCIATED PRESS – NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
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