A wedding in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan revealed the extreme gender segregation imposed by the terrorist regime, as a foreign visitor documented the event where the bride was absent from a key part of her own ceremony.
The wedding, held at the Uranus Wedding Palace in northern Kabul, was attended by thousands of guests, but men and women were completely separated, reports the Daily Mail. Video footage captured by British YouTuber Miles Routledge showed a vast hall filled exclusively with men, while he reported that the women were in a “separate, identically sized venue next door.”
Routledge was also invited to the nikah, the formal Islamic marriage contract signing. However, unlike traditional Islamic weddings where both the bride and groom participate, the Taliban-led ceremony excluded the bride entirely. Instead, male relatives from both families handled the process on her behalf in a closed-off room.
Routledge, who has made multiple trips to Afghanistan, previously traveled there in August 2021 just before the Taliban seized control of the country. He was later airlifted out by the British Army. In 2023, he was arrested by the Taliban and spent eight months in an Afghan prison before his release.
He described the opulence of the wedding, which featured two decorated cars gifted to the groom, golden ornaments throughout the dining area, and a meal of meat, rice, and mantu—Afghan dumplings—served with Pepsi. Guests could also receive henna tattoos, and the groom was showered with white confetti as he sat alone at the head of the wedding.
Despite the festivities, the strict segregation underscored the Taliban’s broader policies of restricting women’s freedoms. Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban has imposed harsh restrictions on women, banning post-primary education, limiting employment, and even forbidding access to parks. In October, the Taliban banned women from hearing other women's voices, sparking fears that Afghan women may now no longer be able to communicate with each other in public.
The United Nations has condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women, describing it as “gender apartheid.” The regime has continuously erased women from public life, enforcing rules that severely limit their role in society.
Routledge’s video was cut short after he was ordered to stop filming, leaving much of the celebration unseen.
