Afghan students in Iran and Pakistan concerned about returning to Afghanistan and their educational future

KABUL: An Afghan student studying management at a public university in Tehran has expressed concern about returning to Afghanistan just days before graduation. He noted that after completing his studies, his student residency will expire, and returning home would mean losing all his dreams and efforts. He explained that he came to Iran after the Taliban took power, and many female students are worried they will not be allowed to stay after graduation and will have to return to Afghanistan under the current conditions. Another Afghan student in Tehran, pursuing a master’s degree in engineering, shared that despite years of living in Iran, he must leave the country after graduation. Living only with his mother, he is particularly anxious about the severe restrictions on women in Afghanistan. A female Afghan student in Islamabad, Pakistan, also reported threat of forced expulsion, stating that returning to Afghanistan would destroy her education and efforts. Similarly, another student at Peshawar University mentioned being under significant psychological pressure and seeing no bright future ahead. These students have called on the international community to pressure the Taliban to lift restrictions on women’s education and employment in Afghanistan. As Iran and Pakistan have intensified the expulsion of Afghans, the Taliban has banned the education of girls beyond the sixth grade and imposed restrictions on women’s work in many sectors. In a recent visit to Afghanistan, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF highlighted that the ban on girls’ education is the greatest challenge and called for the Taliban to lift this prohibition. According to figures, over 2 million Afghans, including 500,000 children, have returned from Iran and Pakistan to Afghanistan.