Taliban Internet Blackouts Sever Afghan Women’s Education and Hope. They Demand Global Action.

In late September, Afghanistan was plunged into a digital darkness. The Taliban government abruptly imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, cutting off millions of Afghans from communication, information, and, for many Afghan women, their final link to education and the outside world. While internet access has been partially restored in Afghanistan, reports from inside the country warn of further blackouts and more surveillance.

According to BBC News, the blackout, which lasted nearly 48 hours, disrupted flights, paralyzed businesses, and severed contact between families across provinces. But for Afghan women, the implications run far deeper than temporary disconnection. This was not just an interruption of service; as for the Taliban, it served as a method of expanding control.

For women barred from schools, jobs, and public life since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the internet had become a rare refuge and one of the only means of continuing education through online classes, working remotely, and staying connected to a world that had otherwise closed its doors.

Fahima, a law and midwifery graduate, told BBC that online learning had been her “last hope” after women were banned from education beyond grade six. “I had hoped to finish my studies and find an online job,” she said. “Now even that dream has been destroyed.”

Students across the country shared similar stories. Shakiba, once enrolled in a midwifery program, said the blackout “made the world feel dark.” Teachers like Zabi, who ran online English courses, described how dozens of students were cut off mid-exam, and their months of preparation were rendered meaningless overnight.

When the internet returned days later, Afghans rejoiced in the streets. “It’s like Eid,” one Kabul resident said. Yet the celebration was unfortunately short-lived. Within a week, the Taliban quietly imposed new restrictions such as filtering social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X, and further limiting what Afghans can see and say online.

The Taliban’s blackout and subsequent filtering campaign mark a new dangerous phase in the regime’s control over Afghan society, which is the institutionalization of surveillance.

By placing all digital networks under state control and cutting Afghans off from the outside world, the Taliban are not only limiting dissent, but they are also ensuring that human rights violations go undocumented. Internet watchdog NetBlocks confirmed that the blackout was an “intentional restriction,” raising alarms that Afghanistan is moving further toward a model of authoritarian digital governance.

For women in particular, this control has devastating implications. Those who once relied on VPNs to access educational platforms or speak anonymously to journalists now fear that even private online activity could be monitored. In a country where the mere act of speaking can warrant punishment for women, digital surveillance has become a weapon of silence for the Taliban.

Despite the Taliban’s attempts to present the blackout as an “anti-vice” measure or a technical issue, it is clear that these moves serve a political purpose to consolidate power and erase any transparency. A regime that systematically cuts communication lines to conceal repression cannot have the privilege of being treated as a legitimate government.

The United States and the United Nations must not normalize or recognize a group that weaponizes isolation against its own citizens, particularly women and girls. Recognition would embolden the group to tighten their grip, knowing there will continue to be no consequence for censorship, for torture, or for the continued enforcement of gender apartheid.

As one Afghan student shared, “We want to study. We want to be educated. We want to be able to help people in our future. When I heard that the internet had been cut, the world felt dark to me.” 

That darkness is precisely what the Taliban want – to render Afghan women invisible, unheard, and disconnected from the world. The international community must ensure that the light does not go out on Afghan women.