WOMEN have been banned from flying alone in Afghanistan as the Taliban’s clampdown on freedom continues, with further restrictions imposed by the country’s religious rulers.

“No women are allowed to fly on any domestic or international flights without a male relative,” said a letter written by a senior official of Ariana Afghan Airlines to his staff.

The Islamists denied imposing the ban, although they had already outlawed intercity road trips for women travelling alone.

New measures were introduced over the weekend, most of them targeting women and girls.

Local television networks have been ordered not to broadcast BBC news bulletins while the Taliban issued a decree banning men and women from visiting parks in the capital Kabul on the same day.

Women are now permitted to visit parks only on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, while the remaining days are reserved for men, a Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice notification said.

“It is not the Islamic Emirate’s order but our God’s order that men and women who are strangers to each other should not gather at one place,” ministry spokesman Mohammad Yahya Aref said.

The Taliban returned to power last August as the US left Afghanistan in defeat after 20 years of war and occupation.

They initially promised to preserve the rights of women and girls after imposing a strict interpretation of Islamic law during their previous period of rule between 1996 and 2001.

But women have since been shut out of public life with restrictions on jobs and education, with secondary schools closing to girls last week until further notice.

Women have however threatened nationwide protests over the latest restrictions while the UN special envoy for Afghanistan Rina Amiri urged the Taliban to “create a culture of hope rather than one of fear.”