In a corner of a small carpet-weaving workshop in the city of Herat, the sharp sound of tying knots on the loom has replaced the murmurs of classroom lessons. The fragile hands of girls who once eagerly turned the pages of books with hope and passion are now busy weaving carpets whose every knot tells a bitter story of their unfulfilled dreams.

After the mass wave of forced deportations of Afghan refugees from Iran, the streets of Herat now witness sad faces, where hunger, homelessness, and helplessness have driven them to beg; in a country that itself suffers from poverty, unemployment, and chronic economic crises.

New findings by Zan News show that more than 60 percent of women and girls who were forcibly deported from Iran and returned to Afghanistan in the past three months are suffering from severe psychological and mental health problems.

While the Taliban refer to the fourth anniversary of their return to power as "Independence Day", this day is a reminder of the beginning of a dark chapter, filled with restrictions and repression, for Afghan women and girls.