Habiba, a 31-year-old Afghan woman, was deported from Iran just before completing her master’s in engineering, part of a wave of nearly 700,000 Afghans forced to return amid heightened expulsions linked to accusations of espionage. The situation has left many returnees, including Rahela and Rahim, grappling with the Taliban’s restrictive policies and a dire economic landscape in Afghanistan, complicating their reintegration and futures.