At the Islam Qala crossing, Afghanistan's western border with Iran, bus after bus unloads families clutching what little they can carry — bags of clothes, mattresses, crying children.
More than 1.8 million Afghans have been forced to return this year.
The majority were hosted in Iran, while about 185,500 were repatriated from Pakistan, and 5,000 from Türkiye.
Many were abruptly deported, stripped of their belongings and rights, and returned to a country in the grip of economic collapse and draconian restrictions, especially for women.
One of them is teacher and publisher Azita Nazhand, who has opened a secret school for girls in Kabul since returning.
"We do not have official permission," she explained.
"When the Taliban's Department of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice visits the school, we tell them that we are only teaching Islamic subjects and the Quran to the girls."
Azita fled to Iran last year, hoping to study, work, and live freely — hopes her father, also a writer, had instilled in her and her sister.
"The smile of the girls at school was a hope for me," Azita told the ABC, tears welling in her eyes.
"When I left them, it was like leaving my soul and everything behind."
But life in Iran brought its own cruelties.
She says Afghan workers like her were treated as second class.
"When we went somewhere to be employed and handed our CVs, no-one would pay attention to us," she said.
"Better working conditions were specified for Iranians, while worse ones were given to Afghan labourers, which was heartbreaking."
When her visa expired in May, she returned reluctantly to Kabul.
"I am highly disappointed," she said quietly.
"I do not think that Afghanistan's situation, or the conditions for women will be changed within the coming few years."
Iranian authorities shake down migrants
According to the UN, Afghanistan has become "the world's most severe women's rights crisis".
Almost 80 per cent of young women are excluded from education, work, or training.
Not a single woman holds office in the Taliban's government.
Over 80 decrees have stripped women of basic rights — banning them from school after grade 6, barring most jobs, and prohibiting entry to parks, gyms, and public spaces.
For men too, returning has meant hardship, humiliation and loss.
Darwesh Parwani sent eight of his 12 family members to Iran and Türkiye to work after he became ill and could no longer support them.
They took a week-long journey on foot, crossing mountains and the desert illegally.
They worked in carpentry, poultry farming and other physical labour, but said they faced severe harassment from Iranians.
"My family was harassed on the way to Iran, at work, and at their home," he said.
Darwesh alleges Iranian authorities would ask for money in exchange for leaving them alone.
But eventually they were deported.
Now that his family are back in Kabul, they're living in poverty, burning plastic and paper for cooking fuel.
"We live near a mountain, with no access to water or electricity. We cannot even afford gas," he says, standing outside his modest home.
"If our dignity is respected here, and if there are job opportunities for the young boys and schools for our children, it is better to stay in our country so that we do not suffer humiliation and abuse in another country."
Accused of spying for Israel
Aid agencies warn the mass returns are pushing Afghanistan closer to collapse, cutting off vital remittances and deepening poverty.
Over half the population already depends on humanitarian aid, which has been slashed by funding cuts.
In the camps near the border, temperatures soar over 40 degrees Celsius.
Babies are changed on bare blankets, fathers queue for hours for rations, and children sleep under canvas tents or in the open.
The crisis escalated after Iran's short war with Israel in June.
Authorities there accused Afghans of spying for Israel and began a fierce crackdown — rounding up undocumented workers, raiding homes, and deporting thousands each day — many who have lived there for decades.
Mir Mohammad Nazari, who spent 16 years in Iran, said his family was humiliated and cheated as they left.
He worked in construction for years until back pain forced him into lighter work as a caretaker.
When the deportations began, he was ordered to leave by July 7, but his employers withheld his wages and refused to pay what he was owed.
"We were ordered to leave … [but] when we asked for our money, they made excuses in different ways" he said.
Even after paying official fees for an exit permit and transport, he says officials demanded more money at every stage of the journey home.
Without passports, the family had relied on temporary registration cards in Iran, but those were revoked before their expulsion.
"There was no justice," he said.
"They knew once we left, they could keep everything for themselves."
It took them three days to leave Iran, and they have now been waiting at a Kabul camp for a week, unsure of what comes next as they hope to return to their home province of Takhar.
The end of a dream
Afghan officials have promised to build housing for returnees, but most remain crowded into camps or dependent on relatives who are struggling themselves.
The UN has urged Iran to show restraint and called on donors to step up aid — warning that Afghanistan cannot absorb such a shock alone.
Families stepping off buses at Islam Qala each day face daunting challenges — from securing documents, housing, healthcare, and education, to rebuilding their lives in a homeland that no longer feels like home.
For Azita, the return to Kabul feels like the end of a dream.
"When we left everything behind in Afghanistan, and went to Iran, we carried with us hopes and ambitions we wanted to achieve abroad," she said.
"[But now], all I have is disappointment."
