After the Taliban forbade women from attending universities, scholarships for Afghan women were announced in December 2022. According to reports from BBC, at least 60 girls have been prevented from leaving the country, even though 100 Afghan women in total have been awarded these scholarships and several Afghan students studying abroad have travelled to Dubai.
According to 20-year-old Afghan student Natkai (not her real name), "After the Taliban shut universities for women, my only hope was to get a scholarship which would help me study abroad."
Natkai claims she persisted in her studies despite the likelihood that she would never be able to attend university in her native country.
On July 23, Natkai bid her family farewell and left for the airport. However, she quickly had her hopes dashed.
According to her statement to BBC, "The Taliban officials said girls are not allowed to leave Afghanistan on student visas when they saw our tickets and student visas."
BBC images show young girls standing next to their luggage in a state of shock and grief while wearing black hijabs or headscarves.
The Taliban forbid women from travelling alone and only permitted them to do so when accompanied by their spouses or a mahram, a male escort, who can be a brother, uncle, or father. Even so, it wasn't sufficient.
"Three girls who had a mahram were inside the plane," claims Natkai. "But officials from the Vice and Virtue ministry took them off the plane."
The remaining students were too terrified to speak with the media.
While accompanying his sister to the airport, a young man named Shams Ahmad (not his real name) expressed his distress.
"The scholarship gave new hope to my sister after the universities were closed here. She left home with hope and returned in tears," he says. "All her rights have been taken away."
According to Mr Ahmad, some of the ladies even took out loans to pay for a male travel companion's visa, but they were still detained.
Some of these girls are very impoverished and defenceless. The document verification cost demanded by the foreign affairs ministry is 400 Afghanis (£4; $5), which they don't even have.
"This is an important and alarming step beyond the extraordinary level of cruelty the Taliban already engage in by denying girls and women education," claims Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch.
Because of this, they are being held captive and unable to receive study aid from others.
Shkula Zadran, a former Afghan youth delegate to the UN, has written a statement encouraging the university to continue working with the girls.
There is no official statement or explanation from the Taliban.
Mohammad Sadiq Akif Muhajir, a spokesman for the Vice and Virtue ministry, told the BBC that they were not aware of the occurrence.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a top Taliban spokesman, similarly refrained from commenting, claiming he was travelling and had no relevant information.
Natkai is feeling hopeless, just like many other Afghan women students. She implores the international community to support Afghan girls' education.
"I missed this opportunity in a country where it is a crime to be a girl. I'm very sad and I don't know what to do or what will happen to me next."
