Afghanistan has been plunged into a sweeping Internet blackout once again. The Taliban first restricted internet access in mid-September 2025, banning fiber-optic (WiFi/wired) connections in some provinces, citing the need to “prevent immorality.” Local Taliban officials said the order was decreed by the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and enforced across government offices, businesses, institutions, and private homes.
“Afghanistan is now in the midst of a total internet blackout as Taliban authorities move to implement morality measures, with multiple networks disconnected through the morning in a stepwise manner; telephone services are currently also impacted,” reported NetBlocks.
Since then, connectivity has been sporadic. Today, however, the blackout is being enforced nationwide. Though the initial directives targeted only a handful of provinces, connectivity across the country collapsed dramatically, with national internet availability dropping to just 14% of ordinary levels, according to NetBlocks, a global internet monitoring organization.
“Physically pulling the plug on fibre internet would therefore also shut down mobile and fixed-line telephone services. It may turn out that disconnecting internet access while keeping phone service available will take some trial and error,” NetBlocks reported.
The shutdown has had devastating consequences for women and girls. Already barred from classrooms, many relied on online platforms as their only access to education, empowerment, and a sense of hope. As of Monday, many students who pursue online education could not be reached.
“The Internet was the only thing we had left. They took schools, universities, parks, gyms, and everything from us. Now they are taking the internet as well. I don’t know how to feel hopeful anymore,” said Beheshta, a young Afghan woman attending online classes. Another explained, “I already feel suffocated just thinking about not having the option to study and connect with my family, who are all outside the country.”
Small businesses are also suffering. Artisans, tailors, and digital entrepreneurs who relied on a stable internet for orders, marketing, and communication face skyrocketing costs for mobile data, which remains patchy and unaffordable for many. The disruption extends far beyond households, affecting banking systems, customs operations, and other essential services that rely on digital infrastructure.
Afghans fear this blackout may signal the beginning of a total internet shutdown, with mobile data next in line for surveillance and further restrictions. Speaking with Afghans, they warn that the policy will deepen inequality, block reporting on human rights violations, and entrench restrictions on women’s rights, education, and the free flow of information.
As an Afghan woman put it when speaking to us: “The Taliban has taken our schools, our jobs, our freedoms. Now they are taking the Internet, the last way we had to learn and to connect with the world.”
Afghan women call for clarity and the restoration of their basic rights, but the Taliban continues to erode them. Afghan women say it is up to the international community to exert real pressure on the regime to reverse its increasingly repressive rules.
Source: NetBlocks
