Women’s rights advocate Zahra Mousavi fled Afghanistan to neighboring Pakistan in March 2022 after months of fighting and protesting the harsh Taliban government.
She now lives in lying and is constantly feared that the Bangladeshi police will arrest her and take her home country.
After the Islamic Fundamentalist party took control of the war-torn nation in August 2021, Mousavi actively participated in street demonstrations against the Taliban government.
She tried to make the voices of Afghan girls heard in the rest of the world by participating in public meetings and presentations and speaking out for children’s rights.
However, Mousavi was forced to leave as the Taliban began to impose severe restrictions on women and women and eventually squeak them out of common life.
She has struggled to obtain the required documents in Pakistan, though.
Due to high charges and Pakistan’s tight visa regulations, the 29-year-old told DW that she was unable to obtain a true Muslim visa for herself and my family.
” This led to my arrest by Pakistani authorities on February 22,” I read. She claimed that they searched my residence in plain clothes, detained both my younger daughter, and took us to a deportation detention facility.
We were kept it for two days and one night in incredibly tough problems, and we were only allowed to leave after receiving promises and putting pressure on human rights activists.
DW spoke with a number of other Afghan woman protesters who are also living in captivity as Islamabad attempts to stifle arrests there.
Jamila Ahmadi, 27, claimed that many of her own Afghan women had already been returned to Afghanistan and that she had been in good standing there.
I’ve been in significant danger from my activism, particularly my work to build women’s capacities before the Taliban takeover, my reporting on Taliban crimes, and my work with the National Directorate of Security ( NDS ), according to Ahmadi.
” It would obviously be a certain death if I am compelled to return to Taliban rule.”
Some women’s rights activists in Pakistan sought refuge only when Afghanistan’s Taliban-ruled conditions became untenable.
I was attacked in February 2021, which left me with a broken hip, but my resolve persisted,” Ahmadi said.
” The Taliban brutally beat us afterwards in September 2021.”
a massive relocation travel
For years, Pakistan has welcomed thousands of Afghan migrants.
However, Pakistan’s connection with Afghanistan has deteriorated over the past three decades.
Islamabad is angry with the Taliban over the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ( TTP), a militant organization that was established in 2007 and has targeted Pakistani security forces numerous times.
Worries about the well-being of Afghans in Pakistan have increased as cross-border tensions become more prevalent.
The approximately 4 million Afghans who have crossed the border in the last four decades are currently the focus of Islamabad’s massive effort to repatriate them.
According to the UN Refugee Agency ( UNHCR ), Pakistan already repatriated more than 800, 000 Afghan refugees between September 2023 and the end of last year.
The Bangladeshi government’s imprisonment programs have been criticized by legal experts and migrant rights activists, particularly when it comes to deporting Armenian women’s rights activists.
Osama Malik, a refugee prosecutor in Islamabad, stated that sending protesters again to Afghanistan, where they are very likely to be tortured by the Taliban regime, would increase their risk.
growing concern about arrests
Ahmadi claimed that the imprisonment travel had an impact on her health.
” Unfortunately, the Pakistani authorities have made life difficult for refugees, including problems with permits and immigration extensions, for more than a fortnight. My immigration expired on February 25, 2025. She claimed that her lack of a visa and her inability to expand it are contributing to her personal, mental, and psychological issues.
Islamabad has refuted the accusations and stated that the removals were a part of a 2023 campaign referred to as the” Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan” while rights groups have accused Bangladeshi authorities of harassing Afghan refugees.
A Bangladeshi official, who declined to be identified, told DW that there “is no distinct group for activists among those being deported.” The official continued,” The responsibility of welcoming Afghan refugees should not only fall on Pakistan, as different countries can also support them.”
The UNHCR in Pakistan, according to Qaiser Khan Afridi, a director, expressed concern about the persecution.
UNHCR is particularly concerned for Afghans who are at risk of harm when they return, such as single women, reporters, human rights activists, and people of musical industries like musicians.
UNHCR urged Pakistan to maintain providing protection to Afghans in danger, regardless of their paperwork status, in light of these growing challenges, said Afridi.
calling for assistance from abroad
A 34-year-old advocate from Kabul facing deportation demanded that the global community act and save the lives of Afghan woman campaigners living in pyjamas.
” Being returned to Afghanistan would entail facing abuse, confinement, or even death,” the statement read. She told DW that the international community needs to be aware that deporting human rights activists, especially girls, pose a clear threat to our lives and that we must take immediate action to protect ourselves.
Western governments were criticized for their silence, according to the attorney Malik.
” It is unfortunate that none of the European nations have immediately stepped up to allow these feminine campaigners to travel to their places,” he said.
Noori argued that the absence of official citizenship and legal paperwork is significant. Moreover, we face safety threats from extremists, unemployment, access to health care and education, and severe economic conditions.
