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This Gender Alert has been developed by the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group (GiHA WG) in Afghanistan. The Gender Alert is based on reports, and updates from humanitarian actors, GIHA WG members, and women organizations in the Southern and Eastern regions of Afghanistan. The information was completed based on two focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted with affected women and girls in the Torkham (Nangarhar) border as well as 10 individual interviews with both women and men in Torkham.
Background and information available to date
On 3 October 2023, Pakistan introduced the “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan”, ordering all undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country. The measure affects 1.7 million Afghan refugees who may be subject to deportation. Since the plan came into force on | November 2023, a total of 327,400 Afghan refugees have fled Pakistan crossing the Torkham (Nangarhar) and Spin Boldak (Kandahar) borders, as of 11 November 2023,a number that continues to increase daily. To respond to these events, the authorities have set up a Returnee Commission, which also oversees local committees at the provincial level, aiming to coordinate the response to the forced displacement.
Forced returnees face insecure conditions at the border points, where thousands are entering every day without shelter and access to basic needs, and uncertain conditions at their destinations. 80% of returnees are women and children' and the situation is particularly critical for the 47% of returnees who are women and girls”, a group mostly comprised of girls and young women aged 6 to 17 as well as Women Heads of Households (WWHH)?. During the week of 29 October to 4 November alone, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has mapped 102 WHH at Spin Boldak and 856 WHH in Torkham. This alert provides insights into these women and girls’ immediate and medium-term assistance needs, including in terms of shelter, protection services, psychosocial support and access to livelihood opportunities.