More than 300 Iranian women’s rights activists, academics, journalists, artists, and civil society campaigners have issued a joint statement condemning the mass deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran.

The signatories described the ongoing expulsions as part of a “deliberate project of exclusion and repression,” warning that refugees, migrants, and Iranian citizens of Afghan descent are once again being made scapegoats amid rising political tensions.

The statement argues that, under the guise of regulating undocumented foreigners, Iranian authorities are engaged in efforts to erase marginalised communities, suppress dissent, and reinforce national and gender-based hierarchies.

Particular concern is raised for Afghan women, who are described as among the most at-risk groups. The activists note that many Afghan women in Iran are the sole breadwinners for their families and live without stable legal protections. Deporting them, they warn, will return them to a country where women are barred from working and have no viable means to support themselves or their children.

The statement also highlights the plight of girls born and raised in Iran who are now being returned to Afghanistan, where access to education for girls is currently banned under Taliban rule.

The signatories argue that deportation in this context is not simply a matter of physical relocation but constitutes “exile, homelessness, and, in some cases, direct threats to life.”

Calling for urgent action, the activists urged civil society organisations, academics, journalists, and artists not to remain silent in the face of what they described as the “systematic expulsion of the other.”

In recent weeks, Iran has significantly increased the pace of deportations of undocumented Afghan migrants, particularly following the ceasefire with Israel. While Iranian authorities have framed the move as a plan to “organise undocumented foreigners,” international organisations have described the situation as a growing humanitarian crisis.