A pregnant reporter from New Zealand who had to request help from the Taliban after being unable to return to NZ due to COVID rules has now been granted a place in the country's border quarantine system.
Unmarried Charlotte Bellis discovered her pregnancy in Sep. while working in Qatar, where extramarital sex is illegal.
It's disturbingly irornic that a regime known for repression of women's rights offered more support to Bellis than her own native country, which is too bogged down by draconian rules to safeguard its citizens.
New Zealand is taking necessary precautions to avoid an Omicron outbreak. Bellis wasn't denied reentry; her flights simply weren't within the time requirement. She was invited to reapply later, bring her flights forward or submit a separate application reserved for at-risk citizens.
New Zealand has only taken interest in Bellis' case to avoid bad PR. There are thousands of desperate New Zealanders trying to get home; the decision on who gets to isn't made fairly or ethically, and pits the vulnerable against each other.