A British couple in their 70s, Peter Reynolds and his wife Barbie, have been arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan for teaching parenting skills to mothers and children. The couple, who have been running projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years, were detained on February 1st when returning to their home in the Bamiyan province. Despite a Taliban ban on women working and female education beyond primary school, this project had been approved by the local authority. The couple managed to communicate with their children via text message for the first three days after their arrest, but the messages have stopped since then. Their home has been raided and their employees have been interrogated about religious proselytising, which they have denied. Peter Reynolds, who is nearly 80, needs heart medication after a mini-stroke. Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, and her brothers have written an open letter to the Taliban leadership, begging for their parents’ release. The couple, who met at the University of Bath and got married in Kabul in 1970, had been running projects in five schools in Kabul, and the Taliban leaders were impressed and inspired by their programs. They had been given dual citizenship and vowed to continue their good work in schools.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/23/british-couple-in-their-70s-arrested-by-the-taliban-in-afghanistan