Afghan Women Plunge Into Darkness as Taliban Imposes Nationwide Internet Blackout

Afghan women say their “last hope” has been destroyed after the Taliban imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, cutting off online education, jobs, and access to the outside world.

For many, the internet had become the only lifeline after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 brought sweeping restrictions on women. Girls above 12 were banned from schooling, women pushed out of most jobs, and books written by female authors purged from universities.

Fahima Noori (name changed), a law graduate who had turned to online learning, said the blackout ended her dreams.

“Our last hope was online learning. Now even that dream has been destroyed,” she told the BBC.

Another student, Shakiba from northern Takhar province, described the moment as devastating: “We want to study. We want to be educated. We want to help people in the future. When I heard the internet had been cut, the world felt dark to me.”

Internet Shutdown Paralyzes Daily Life

The Taliban began cutting fibre-optic connections in recent weeks, claiming the move was to prevent “immorality.” On Tuesday, watchdog NetBlocks confirmed a “total internet blackout” across Afghanistan.

The shutdown has crippled essential services: international media lost contact with Kabul offices, flights were grounded at Kabul airport, and mobile networks and satellite TV have been severely disrupted.

For families, the impact is deeply personal. Fahima, who studied with her two sisters online, said: “We dreamed of finishing our education and helping our father financially, but now… we all sit at home doing nothing.”

Women Silenced Under Taliban Rule

Since seizing power, the Taliban have enforced laws based on their interpretation of Sharia, steadily eroding women’s rights. Earlier this month, 140 books by female authors—including academic texts such as Safety in the Chemical Laboratory—were banned from universities for allegedly being “anti-Sharia.”

Human rights and sexual harassment courses were also outlawed.

The Taliban maintain that women’s rights are respected “in line with Afghan culture and Islamic law.” But for millions of Afghan women now cut off from education, work, and even the internet, hope for a better future is slipping further away.