Crossing gendered borders: Afghan women’s experiences in the Iran–Türkiye borderlands

This study examines how borders intensified by increasing irregular migration function not only as geographical boundaries but also as social, political, and gendered spaces. Focusing on the experiences of young Afghan women along the Iran–Türkiye migration corridor, it approaches border crossing not merely as a physical act but as a process shaped by gender norms, patriarchal power, and state border regimes. The findings show that migration is embedded in gender-based oppression before departure and continues through violence, surveillance, negotiation, and insecurity during border crossing. At the same time, the narratives reveal women’s agency, resilience, and everyday strategies of negotiation in responding to these conditions. This study provides new empirical evidence from the Iran–Türkiye migration corridor in the context of feminist border scholarship. By centring the narratives of young Afghan women, it demonstrates how vulnerability, negotiation, and resistance are co-produced throughout the migration process, thereby enriching existing debates on gendered borders.