UN: Afghan Women Returnees Face Severe Discrimination

Kokcha News Agency: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has released a new report highlighting the severe discrimination faced by Afghan women and girls, particularly those returning from Iran and Pakistan. Since 2021, access to basic services for returnee women has significantly declined.

According to the report, 21% of returnee women face difficulties accessing water, compared to 14% of non-returnee women. Additionally, 22% struggle with access to public health services, and 28% face legal service barriers.

Returnee women are more isolated and experience higher psychological stress, with only 19% maintaining daily contact with other women, and 40% describing their mental health as “very poor.”

The situation is particularly dire for female-headed households, where 61% report working long hours that harm their well-being. These households also face higher levels of food insecurity compared to male-headed families.

Lack of identity documents is one of the biggest obstacles to reintegration, with two out of three households reporting that their members lack property or civil documents. The requirement for a male guardian and lack of awareness of administrative procedures are major barriers to obtaining identification.

The report also reveals that women have minimal presence in local decision-making structures, with most decisions made by men. Returnee families are more likely to report threats, service deprivation, and discrimination compared to host communities.

The UNHCR has warned that many cases of domestic violence and forced marriages in Afghanistan go unreported, as women often turn to local elders or relatives instead of courts or police.

Access to education for girls has also declined significantly, with overcrowded schools, long distances, and early marriages cited as primary reasons for dropping out. Under Taliban rule, girls are only allowed to attend school up to the sixth grade.

The UNHCR recommends working with local councils and religious leaders, strengthening awareness and service referrals, creating social networks, providing women-centered legal services and cash assistance, expanding psychological support, and creating livelihood opportunities in collaboration with the private sector.

Many international organizations blame the Taliban for this dire situation, emphasizing that the group’s restrictive policies on education, work, and freedom of movement have paralyzed women’s daily lives.

Afghanistan is now widely recognized as one of the worst countries in the world for women, with the systematic violation of basic rights for half the population.