The darkness of the Taliban’s cruel restrictions has cast a black, heavy shadow over little Mahtab’s life.

The Humanitarian Crisis Amid the Forced Deportation of Afghan Refugees from Pakistan

The Islam Qala border is not just a geographic line between two countries these days; it is a line between hope and despair — between mothers who left Afghanistan in search of a better life and now return empty-handed, a child in their arms, to a place where no one is waiting for them.

Hunger and lack of sufficient food have caused widowed and unaccompanied women to forget the pain and suffering of loneliness and having no guardian.

Although women have no place in the Taliban’s all‑male government and this group is globally notorious for its misogyny, a woman named Ahu Bashiri paved the streets and alleys of Zahkan village in Anar Dara district of Farah province by selling half a kilogram of gold and 30,000 US dollars.

Women and girls in remote areas of Herat province have complained about the lack of access to healthcare services, stating that the absence of doctors and the distance from health centers have led to the death of many patients, particularly pregnant women during childbirth.

"My father sold me to feed his stomach." "The pain of the 100 lashes the Taliban gave me in front of the public is engraved in my brain, mind, and bones." "My father is more cruel than the Taliban. I am sick, I weave carpets to earn money to go to the doctor, but my father says, why should a girl go to the doctor?" These are the quotes of Afghan girls and women who are experiencing their tragic lives under the shadow of the gun and the so-called Islamic regime of the Taliban.

Marina Sadat, a young girl, fell victim to a horrific crime last December. She was arrested by Taliban's "Virtue and Vice" agents in the Dasht-e-Barchi area on charges of "improper hijab." 21 days after her arrest, her body was found in a sack next to a stream in the Paghman district of Kabul.

Karima, a woman who lives in Kabul with her three daughters, is an example of the many female household heads in Afghanistan who face numerous challenges in providing for their families and caring for their children amidst the country's current economic and social hardships.