This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Maryam has worked as an online interpreter since the Taliban banned women from most jobs in Afghanistan.
But her livelihood is under threat after the hard-line Islamist group last week shut down access to fiber-optic Internet in large swaths of the country.
The move has left government offices, homes, and private businesses in around half of Afghanistan — including major cities — without WiFi access.
“We have faced many problems due to the Internet shutdown,” Maryam, who lives in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, using a pseudonym for fear of retribution. “I’m the breadwinner of my family.”
The Taliban said the Internet shutdowns that started on September 15 are intended to prevent “immorality,” with the group previously voicing concern over pornography and online intimacy between men and women.
But critics said the decision is part of a wider crackdown on individual freedoms and the free flow of information. Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban has severely restricted the rights of Afghans, especially women, and violently cracked down on dissent.
Elizabeth Stickney, a U.S. State Department spokesperson, told Radio Azadi that the Taliban’s restrictions on fiber-optic Internet were “very concerning,” saying it will negatively affect the lives of ordinary Afghans and the country’s economy.
The move comes as the Taliban has started to enforce an October 2024 ban on depictions of living things — people and animals. The ban includes the “production and watching of videos and photos of living things on computers and mobile phones.”
There are fears that the broadband blackouts could further cut off Afghanistan, which has become an international pariah under Taliban rule, from the rest of the world.
The Internet shutdowns have not yet affected Kabul, the Afghan capital, and it is unclear if the restrictions will be enforced nationwide. Mobile Internet is still functioning in most areas, although it is more expensive and less reliable.
A Lifeline For Women
The Internet has been a lifeline for Afghan women, many of whom lost their right to work and study following a Taliban ban in 2022.
Among them is Soraya, who has worked remotely from Kabul for a foreign organization.
“As an Afghan woman, life is already very difficult for us,” she told Radio Azadi, using a pseudonym. “The only way we can earn an income and support ourselves and our families under these conditions is through online work.”
But the Internet shutdowns, Soraya said, have made “life more difficult for us, and I’m afraid that I will lose this last hope and my job.”
Afghan women and teenage girls have turned to virtual learning amid the Taliban’s ban on education.
Sporadic power and Internet outages were already undercutting the reach of online schools and universities. But not being able to access the Internet ends the chance to study for some.
“After I was cut off from school, WiFi Internet was a way for me to find myself again,” said Nazifa, who was in the ninth grade when she was banned from studying.
“But when the WiFi was disconnected, I lost all hope,” she added, also using a pseudonym. “I had passed the exams and worked very hard.”
No Religious Basis
The Taliban has used Islamic Shari’a law to justify its extremist policies. But Islamic scholars say there is no religious grounds for the group’s decision to shut down the Internet.
Fazl al-Hadi Wazin, a member of the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, said the Taliban can restrict access to websites with pornographic and violent content. But completely cutting off the Internet is not the solution, he said.
“Cutting and banning the Internet has no religious basis whatsoever,” Wazin, an Afghan scholar, told Radio Azadi. “If something is likely to be misused, this does not mean that it should be banned.”
Shutting down the Internet, Wazin said, means “depriving the nation of a very important tool that is essential for progress and advancement.”
The broadband blackouts are likely to exacerbate the economic strife in Afghanistan, where poverty is rising, hunger is widespread, and unemployment is high.
Mohammad, a resident of the southern city of Kandahar, owns a private company. Since the Internet shutdown, he has been unable to communicate with customers and suppliers.
“Currently our work has completely stopped,” he told Radio Azadi. “In the 21st century, the world is connected by the Internet, and the lack of Internet increases our [economic] problems.”
Meanwhile, media watchdogs have condemned the Internet ban as an attempt to stop the free flow of information.
“Banning broadband Internet is an unprecedented escalation of censorship that will undermine journalists’ work and the public’s right to information,” said Beh Lih Yi, the Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, a global press freedom watchdog.
“The Taliban should end their cycle of repression and unconditionally restore Internet access, which is an essential tool for news gathering.”
