Afghan Women Returning from Iran and Pakistan Turn to Begging

Image credit: The Afghan Times

“The Taliban have divided the aid among their own people; nothing is left for us.”

Despite the Taliban’s repeated claims of supporting Afghan returnees, harrowing scenes on the streets of Afghanistan tell a different story. Women, children, and even men expelled from Iran and Pakistan can be seen in cities across the country, extending their hands in despair to passersby; a painful reflection of poverty, abandonment, and unfulfilled promises.

The Taliban claim to have provided humanitarian aid for returnees across various sectors, but Zan News field reports indicate that much of this assistance has never reached those in real need.

Several returnees told Zan News that the Taliban have distributed international aid among their own affiliates, leaving nothing for the poor.

Khojasta, a mother of two young children in Farah, now sits by the roadside and begs for help from passersby.

She told Zan News: “May God not bless those who ruined our lives. Look, it’s midnight, the air is cold and dusty, and I’m wandering with my sick children. We were deported from Tehran. Apart from the 5,000 Afghanis they gave us at the Nimroz border, we received no help. I am homeless and beg because of poverty.”

In Nimroz province, Khaleda, another returnee woman, begs on the streets with her family. “This man is my husband, there is no work for him,” she said. “Now we beg together. Many nights we have no bread and return empty-handed to our empty tent.”

In Herat, Nazanin, a woman with two daughters and a young son, has been living in Taraqqi Park for four months, stretching out her hand to passersby in search of help.

She is originally from Khost province but says she cannot afford the fare to return home.

“I am from Khost, but I don’t have money to go back,” she told Zan News. “I’ve been here for four months. During the day, I beg so my children won’t go hungry; at night, we sleep in corners of parks and on the streets. No one comes to us.”

The sharp rise in begging across Afghan cities, particularly after the forced deportation of migrants from Iran and Pakistan, has become one of the country’s gravest humanitarian crises.

While millions of dollars in international aid are flowing into Afghanistan under the banner of “support for returnees,” homeless women and children still sit on the streets, waiting for a small act of mercy and compassion.