Written by: Mona
Brief, but Cautionary Internet Ban in Afghanistan
On September 30, 2025, the Taliban ordered internet and phone data services to be cut in all of Afghanistan. The Taliban did not provide a clear or direct explanation for this decision. Still, it has been reported that the order came from Kandahar-based Taliban leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, in the name of preventing immoral acts.
As these services shut down, disruptions were recorded in airports, private banks, and the central bank. Police and government workers were put at a standstill. Small businesses that rely on internet communication, like travel businesses and money transfer services, almost collapsed. Families were unable to communicate with relatives in other parts of the country and overseas. Even outside of the country, representatives for the UN refugee agency reported that they could not reach frontline aid workers who were responding to the recent earthquake that had taken at least 2,000 lives. By cutting off the internet and cell service, the Taliban only exacerbated poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity in the country. Worst of all, thousands of Afghan girls lost their last means of education, work, and connection to the outside world.
Within a couple of days, the Taliban brought back internet and cell service, only to place restrictions on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook a few days later. While connectivity coming back may have been the result of pushback from Taliban ministers who increasingly disagree with the group’s leader, this brief ban shows the effort that the Taliban is making to control public discourse and social rhythms, especially for girls.
Access to Education for Afghan Girls
The internet ban highlighted the way that the Taliban has been attacking the freedom of Afghan girls. According to the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Score, Afghanistan has scored 0.286 out of 1, ranking the lowest of 177 countries. Much of this is because of the 70 decrees that have been issued restricting women and girls in terms of their movement, dress, work, and education ever since the 2021 Taliban takeover.
Before the takeover, some provinces were starting to see higher rates of female enrollment than male enrollment in universities. Since the takeover, the Taliban has placed a ban on education for girls past year six. As of January 2023, young women were no longer allowed to take university entrance exams, and by April 2023, 80% of school-aged girls were out of school.
Education bans past year six were justified by the Taliban-affiliated Minister of Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, who said that girls were being restricted because they were not showing up to school dressed “properly” and that they were pursuing studies that “do not align with Afghan culture”. This restriction in particular has been correlated with a 25% increase in rates of child marriage, 45% increase in the rate of early childbearing, and 50% increase in risks of maternal mortality, according to the UN. Additionally, girls and young women have lost pathways to securing jobs and supporting themselves and their families financially.
Alternatives Can Only Do So Much
In the wake of these changes, Taliban officials have facilitated the establishment of at least 22,972 Madrassas schools across the country in the last three years. The content in these schools is mostly religious, and the Afghanistan Human Rights Center has released statements that the curriculum does not align with global goals seeking accessible education and teaches violent, extremist views.
As many young girls in Afghanistan are sustaining the whiplash of these bans, they have found ways to stand up for their right to a real education. With the rise of Madrassass schools, “secret schools” were popping up as older girls and women in Afghanistan started teaching from their own homes. It was dangerous, but many of these girls and women were so committed to educating younger generations that they believed it was worth the risk.
These “secret schools” have been quietly supported by international donors, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), under the title “community-based education” and even provided options for girls to pursue online graduate degrees. At the beginning of the Trump administration, $1.7 billion in aid was cancelled. Access to these online programs was cut, and secret schools across the country are now closing down.
Aside from this, many innovative online options are available through other external organizations. The brief internet ban, however, showed how fragile this access is. One program, LEARN Afghan, shared the students’ perspectives on the internet ban. Many expressed that the loss of the internet was catastrophic for girls and women as it shut them out from learning, economic survival, advocacy, connection to the world, and online resources used to seek safety and privacy in an increasingly suffocating society.
Growing Isolation for Afghan Girls
One LEARN Afghan student, Saliha, said, “For many women and girls, it feels like losing the only light left in a very dark tunnel.” Another student, Roqia, said, “What is the point of living when we can’t do anything for our future and ourselves?” The experience of these girls aligns with surveys conducted by UN Women that found that 99% of Afghan women surveyed expressed feelings of having limited autonomy over decisions. Without the internet, Afghan girls have barely any freedom left.
Though the internet is back, now social media is being highly censored and monitored. Social media is crucial for Afghan girls to feel connected to the world and like they have a voice. Without social media, already high rates of isolation and suicide risk are only expected to increase.
Is There Hope for Change?
The swift return of the internet in early October shows that there are Taliban officials who want to see more relaxed restrictions, including restrictions on women and girls. International leaders must carefully navigate their communication with the Taliban. Using the Doha process, many countries now engage with Afghanistan in a push-and-pull manner. As the Taliban relaxes restrictions and makes governance more inclusive, other countries will relax their restrictions on Afghanistan and provide some development support. This process is critical, but continued engagement is significant.
Outside of Afghanistan, international leaders are making efforts to include women in the decisions shaping Afghanistan’s future. Afghan women’s voices are uplifted in gatherings such as the Women’s Forum on Afghanistan, which Ireland, Indonesia, Switzerland, and Qatar cohosted. Furthermore, global agencies like the United Nations and the World Bank have active projects in Afghanistan that specifically prioritize the inclusion of women and girls.
Beyond this, many grassroots organizations are working to uplift the voices and improve the lives of girls in Afghanistan. The Aga Khan Foundation is a women-led micro-farming initiative that enhances the country’s climate resilience and biodiversity while also supporting the economic livelihood of Afghan women and girls. Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is an organization that serves Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and the United States. They focus on direct services and humanitarian support, education and economic empowerment, and advocacy and community building. Other organizations, like Kandahar Treasure, use social enterprise models to help Afghan women and their families break cycles of poverty.
While the future is uncertain, we must remember the Afghan women and girls who risk their lives daily to live out their right to be educated, countless frontline workers that are working to restore the rights of Afghan girls, and the international leaders who are working tirelessly to create a better future for Afghanistan – and we must also continue to hope for (and support and advocate for) a better future for Afghan girls.
References
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Freedom House. (2024). Afghanistan: Freedom in the World 2024 Country Report. https://freedomhouse.org/country/afghanistan/freedom-world/2024
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS). (2024). Country Profile – Afghanistan. https://giwps.georgetown.edu/country/afghanistan
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