Afghan women struggle with poverty, lack of shelter amid forced returns from Pakistan, Iran

Kabul: Thousands of Afghan women and families, who have been deported from Pakistan and Iran, face poverty, lack of shelter, and growing human rights concerns, local media reported on Tuesday. 

Women-headed households hit hardest after deportations

Afghan returnees report facing economic hardships, lack of shelter, and limited access to basic services. Many of these female-headed households used to work in Pakistan and Iran, the Afghan news agency Khaama Press reported. However, deportation from Iran and Pakistan has left them without financial support, resulting in families facing extreme poverty during harsh winter conditions.

IOM warns of livelihood crisis for millions of returnees

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) warned that more than two million returnees face livelihood challenges. Forced deportations are further intensifying the extreme refugee situation, with Afghan migrants, particularly women and children, being sent back to regions where there is gender-based violence, early or forced marriages, and restricted freedoms.

Journalists and media workers in Afghanistan also face similar threats. Reporting on forced deportations, protests and women's rights has become dangerous, with many facing detention, harassment or violence, Khaama Press reported.

UN flags alarming employment and housing gaps

According to UN reports, only 11 per cent of Afghan returnees are employed, while one in four do not have adequate housing. Over half of households cannot even meet basic needs, and women-headed households face food insecurity and unemployment. UN reports have indicated that women make up almost half of all returnees from Pakistan and a third from Iran. The UN said that around 75 per cent of Afghans are unemployed, while 90 per cent live below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, leading human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has asked the Pakistani government to protect and shield the Afghan refugees staying in their territory from harassment and unlawful torture by security agencies.

In an open letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the human rights organisation has expressed grave concerns over unlawful detention, harassment and deportation of Afghan refugees living there, highlighting the fact that they remain vulnerable and deserve state protection.

It demanded that Pakistani authorities take proactive steps to halt the deportation of Afghan refugees and ensure that they are safeguarded as per international human rights law.

"Pakistani authorities must ensure that the rights of Afghan refugees are protected, particularly protection from arbitrary detention and eviction from refugee camps and their accommodations," the letter said.

Rights groups cite threats to women and refugees

Citing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data, Amnesty International stated that around 110,000 refugees and asylum seekers were faced with direct threats of deportation and therefore require protection. It also shifted the focus to the vulnerability of women, journalists, and human rights activists if forcibly returned to Afghanistan.

Notably, Pakistan has hosted Afghan refugees for over 40 years, sheltering hundreds of thousands who fled conflict and political upheaval. However, since the launch of the “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan” in September 2023, Pakistan stepped up efforts to repatriate undocumented and unverified Afghans, including some with legal refugee status.

(IANS)