From Returning Home to Building a Future: Reihana’s Journey

From Returning Home to Building a Future: Reihana’s Journey

Reihana receiving her wages through digital payment. @Fareed Ahmad Ranjbar

When Reihana returned to Afghanistan from Iran, she came home carrying more uncertainty than belongings.

Years earlier, financial hardship had led her family to leave Afghanistan in search of better opportunities. Reihana had married at 17 and later became a mother of two. But life in Iran did not bring the stability she had hoped for. Her husband struggled with drug addiction, leaving Reihana to shoulder much of the responsibility for caring for their children.

The family was forcibly returned to Afghanistan in late 2025, bringing back with them only a few of the resources they had built up during their time in Iran.

“When we returned, life became very difficult. I was worried about my children and how we would meet our daily needs.”

In Iran, she had worked in a dried-fruit factory and earned an income to help support her family. Back in Afghanistan, finding similar work was much more difficult, with restrictions on women’s movement and fewer opportunities for women to earn an income. 

An opportunity finally came through a short term job offered to vulnerable community members by the CRLP in Pul-e-Khumri. She began earning AFN 450 a day. With her first earnings, Reihana was able to buy necessities for her children and contribute to her husband’s treatment.

But the significance of the work goes beyond the amount she earns.

For Reihana, being able to earn again has brought a renewed sense of possibility. Her family still faces challenges, and her husband’s condition remains a concern. But having an income has given her greater room to respond to those challenges and make decisions about what her family needs. 

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