UN Women, promoting gender empowerment and equality, along with CARE International and partners, issued a call in a report highlighting the challenges and needs of women aid workers assisting returnees. The Gender Alert comes as Afghanistan faces a surge of returnees amidst Taliban rule, economic crisis, climate shocks, and immense humanitarian needs. Since September 2023, over 2.4 million undocumented Afghan migrants have returned or were forced to return from Pakistan and Iran. Women and girls make up a significant portion of these returnees, many arriving in a country they’ve never lived in, lacking home, income, or access to education and healthcare.
Returnees, like all women and girls in Afghanistan, face increased risks of poverty, early marriage, violence, and severe restrictions on their rights and freedoms. Susan Ferguson, UN Women Special Representative, emphasized the need for more funding to support these women and ensure the presence of women humanitarian workers. The report outlines urgent needs such as safe shelter, livelihood support, and girls’ education. Only 10% of women-headed households have a permanent shelter, many fear eviction, and all girls are banned from secondary school.
Cuts in foreign aid and movement restrictions impact the efforts of women humanitarian workers, who are crucial at border points. Women humanitarians face challenges due to requirements like needing a male guardian, or mahram, for travel, with funding cuts reducing support for these arrangements. The report highlights the overwhelming situation at border points, with humanitarian workers unable to meet basic needs due to funding cuts.
Graham Davison, CARE Afghanistan Director, spoke on the distress and disorientation faced by arrivals, stressing the urgent need for basic services, safe spaces, and protection. Afghanistan is already amid one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, exacerbated by conflict, poverty, and natural disasters. The partners urge the international community to act to protect Afghan women and girls’ rights and to invest in women humanitarians.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also called for international support as Afghanistan faces a historic return movement. Returnee numbers are expected to rise, with one million more Afghans anticipated from Pakistan. IOM operates reception centers at major border crossings, appealing for more funding to address the growing needs.
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