Photo: Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Al-Monitor The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has stated that Afghan girls recently deported from Iran and Pakistan are facing increasing dangers inside Afghanistan. By sharing images of returned girls on the social media platform X, the agency warned that their dreams are at risk of being destroyed. UNHCR says that in recent months, around two million Afghan migrants have been deported or forced to return from neighboring countries to a homeland already grappling with deep humanitarian crises, where girls are more at risk of threats and deprivation than others. The organization has warned that many returnees suffer from severe psychological trauma caused by detention, separation from family, loss of property, and inhumane treatment experienced at the borders of Iran and Pakistan. According to UNHCR’s report, women and girls who have returned face severe restrictions on rights, personal freedoms, and social participation in Afghanistan. Ethnic and religious minorities, human rights defenders, and journalists are also among the groups the agency says face even greater risks. This international body, while reaffirming its continued support for returnees, has announced that its financial resources are limited and that it urgently needs support from the international community to continue delivering life-saving services. The United Nations also emphasized that the mass return of migrants, alongside rising unemployment, natural disasters, and lack of service infrastructure, has further worsened Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation. In recent months, Iran and Pakistan have forcibly returned hundreds of thousands of Afghan migrants, including women and girls, to a country where girls’ education is banned and the Taliban have deprived women of participation in most social, professional, and public spheres.

Photo: Fareed Khan / AP Photo via Human Rights Watch As the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries, especially Iran and Pakistan, has intensified, the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency has reported that more than 1,100 migrant families were returned to Afghanistan in just one day. According to the report, on Sunday (August 3), 70 families entered Afghanistan through the Torkham crossing, 20 families through Spin Boldak in Kandahar, 85 families via the Pul-e-Abrishum in Nimroz, one family through Bahramcha in Helmand, and 932 families through Islam Qala in Herat. This comes as the Taliban had earlier announced that over one million Afghan migrants had been deported from Iran in just the past three months.

Photo: UNDP Afghanistan, via X The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan has announced the launched of a training program aimed at empowering Afghan women entrepreneurs to enter international markets. On Monday (August 4), the organization posted on its official X page that the program was conducted in collaboration with the Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (ICPSD) and with the participation of the HARAKAT organization. UNDP stated that the goal of this training program is to enhance women's knowledge regarding product exports and to prepare them for entry into global markets. The training program was held over two days and was attended by around 80 women entrepreneurs. UNDP said, “This training program helps women leading micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) gain the necessary skills to introduce their products to global markets.” According to the published images, the event was held with a large presence of women entrepreneurs, trainers, and officials from partner organizations. This training program is being held at a time when women's economic participation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule faces extensive restrictions.

Social Media Local sources in Nangarhar province say that a female doctor was shot dead by unknown armed men on the morning of Sunday (August 3) in the city of Jalalabad. According to the sources, the 28-year-old doctor named “Zeba” worked in the gynecology and obstetrics department of Nangarhar Provincial Hospital. Around 8:30 AM, while she was waiting for her transport vehicle in the "Alfat Mina" area of the city’s seventh district, she was targeted by unknown gunmen and lost her life. The family of the doctor stated that she had no personal enmity with anyone. This incident occurred near the Taliban's police headquarters in Nangarhar. The Taliban’s police command has confirmed the incident and stated that the perpetrators managed to flee the scene. However, Taliban officials said that the motive for the killing is still unclear and that they have launched an investigation. It is worth mentioning that after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, incidents of killings have increased across various parts of the country. In many of these cases, the perpetrators are referred to as “unknown armed individuals” and few reports are published about their identification or prosecution.

Photo: AP via Daily Sabah The World Food Programme (WFP), in a newly released report, has warned that the hunger crisis in Afghanistan is “deepening by the day,” with women and children, especially those recently deported from neighboring countries, among the most vulnerable groups. The UN agency announced on Sunday (August 3) that it urgently needs 539 million dollars in funding to provide effective assistance to millions of people in need in Afghanistan over the next six months. According to the report, one in every five Afghan citizens does not know where their next meal will come from. Afghanistan remains one of the countries facing the most severe hunger crises in the world. WFP states that this crisis is the result of four decades of war, widespread poverty, economic collapse, recurring droughts, and unpredictable climate change. According to the data provided, it is projected that more than 3.5 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan will suffer from malnutrition this year; an increase of half a million compared to last year. Additionally, 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are in critical condition and are in urgent need of nutritional treatment. The World Food Programme has emphasized that women and girls are the most affected by this situation, as they have been marginalized in society and have more limited access to essential resources. The organization has also stated that female-headed households are considered one of the most vulnerable groups and are prioritized in receiving aid from the agency. These warnings come at a time when, in recent months, the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries, especially Pakistan and Iran, has intensified. The return of thousands of displaced families has placed additional pressure on the country’s limited resources and doubled the need for urgent humanitarian assistance.

Photo: World Sports Craze While the Taliban, by completely banning women’s sports in Afghanistan, have buried the dreams and futures of thousands of female athletes, the world is now witnessing the rebirth of the Afghan women’s football team in exile. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced on Friday (August 1) that the first global talent identification camp for Afghan women footballers in exile was held from July 23 to 29 in Sydney, Australia. According to Reuters, this program is part of FIFA’s efforts to form a team of 23 Afghan refugee women players to enable their participation in international friendly competitions. FIFA has expressed hope that this team will be able to participate in international friendly matches by the end of this year and take a step toward bringing Afghan women’s football back to the global stage. This comes as, following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the group, with its extremist interpretation of Sharia law, officially banned women’s sports altogether. This decision effectively removed the Afghan women’s national football team from all official international competitions. Dozens of female players, facing security threats, left Afghanistan and now live in exile in various countries. It is worth noting that FIFA officially approved the establishment of the Afghan women’s football team in exile in May of this year and appointed Pauline Hammill, former player of Scotland’s national team, as the coach of this team.

Social Media The Purple Saturdays Movement, expressing deep concern over the disappearance of Samanah Tajik, a 15-year-old Afghan refugee girl in Iran, has called for the immediate intervention of international human rights organizations and accountability from the Iranian government regarding this case. This movement, in a statement issued today, Sunday (August 3), said that the abduction of Samanah Tajik and the numerous suspicious killings of Afghan refugee women, along with the widespread process of forced deportation of migrants from Iran, have intensified an atmosphere of fear and despair among refugee girls, especially teenagers. The statement, referring to similar cases of the killings of Afghan refugee women in Iran, including the murder of Kobra Rezai, warned about the possibility of such tragedies recurring and called on international organizations to take action to save Samaneh’s life before it is too late. It is worth noting that Samanah Tajik, a 15-year-old Afghan refugee girl, disappeared on July 15, 2025, in the Chahardangeh Hasanabad area of Tehran, and there has been no news about her fate since then. According to this movement, Samanah’s father is currently in prison and her mother passed away about two years ago. Samanah has been left completely alone and unprotected and is living in total abandonment. The movement emphasized that the Iranian government has so far taken no serious action to investigate and follow up on her situation. The statement adds that Samanah is just one example among thousands of Afghan refugee girls in Iran who are exposed to dangers such as sexual violence, racial discrimination, abduction, forced deportation, and homelessness. This movement, emphasizing the urgent need for legal, psychological, and social support for unaccompanied refugee girls, has called for the immediate halt of the process of arresting and forcibly deporting Afghan migrants from Iran. In this statement, international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International have been called upon to pressure the Iranian government to expedite the handling of Samanah’s case and establish more effective support mechanisms for Afghan refugees in Iran.

Social Media Local sources in Ghor province have reported the suicide of a young woman in Lal wa Sarjangal district of the province. Sources told Zan News that the woman ended her life by hanging herself in the village of “Kashk-e Sofla” in Lal wa Sarjangal district. According to eyewitnesses, the woman’s name was Fatima, and she committed suicide before noon on Thursday, July 31, following domestic violence. One witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Fatima was 33 years old, a mother of three children, and had long complained about the difficult conditions of her life. He added that the incident has left the village’s women in shock and grief. Sources say that following the incident, Taliban security forces arrested Fatima’s husband and transferred him to the district prison. It is worth noting that since the Taliban returned to power, suicide cases among women and girls have increased alarmingly in various provinces; a phenomenon largely attributed to domestic violence, psychological pressure, and the absence of social and legal support for women.

Photo: 8am newspaper Local sources in Khost province have reported the suicide of a young boy in the Nadershah-kot district of the province. Sources told the media that the incident took place on Friday (1 August) when the boy ended his life by drinking acid. The cause of the suicide has been reported as domestic violence. So far, the Taliban have not commented on the incident. This incident comes as suicide rates among children and adolescents have increased since the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Domestic violence and poverty are cited as the main factors behind these incidents.

Photo: REUTERS via english alarabiya The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has stated in a new report that the human rights situation in Afghanistan has severely deteriorated, with women and girls being the main victims of this crisis. The report states that the Taliban, by imposing widespread restrictions including the ban on girls' education above grade six, the prevention of women from working, the enforcement of full-body covering, and the prohibition of their presence in public spaces, have severely violated the fundamental rights of women. According to SIGAR, these repressive policies have resulted in women being completely excluded from social, economic, and cultural life, which has had wide-ranging impacts on their mental health, educational opportunities, and personal security. The agency has warned that in addition to the pressure from the Taliban, the reduction of international aid and the restrictions on humanitarian services have further worsened the situation of women in Afghanistan and require urgent action by the international community.