The Taliban’s state capture of Afghanistan in 2021 has been catastrophic for the Afghan people. Women and girls have been relentlessly targeted and oppressed. Alongside an unrelenting assault on freedom of movement, employment, information, and expression for most female Afghans, in-person education has been undermined and outright banned for a majority of students.
For over four years now, secondary and tertiary study have been prohibited for most adolescent girls and young women in Afghanistan. While girls can still attend primary school, the Taliban have made swift work of dismantling secular curriculum and existing education infrastructure in favor of a widespread system of religious madrassas.
But amid the Taliban’s attempt to disrupt critical thinking and quality education access for communities across Afghanistan, innovative programs and online learning platforms endured as a lifeline of resilience and resistance.
Now this too has come under attack as the Taliban viciously cut fiber-optic and mobile internet services for provinces across the country.
Though service, for the time being, has recently been restored in various capacities, the Taliban’s actions over the last two weeks yet again demonstrate their brutalization of personal freedoms and the fragility of information access for most Afghans.
The Bush Institute recently spoke with Afghan students courageously continuing their studies via LEARN Afghan to share their perspective and why the internet shutdown matters for Afghans and the global community at large:
Ghotay, a LEARN Afghan student
The internet ban in Afghanistan is catastrophic for women, girls, and other persecuted communities because it strips them of one of the few remaining lifelines to education, employment, and freedom of expression. For many Afghan women and girls, whose physical mobility and access to public spaces have already been severely restricted, the internet has been the only means to continue their studies, connect with global resources, and sustain hope for a better future. Online platforms provide access to academic courses, language learning, and professional development, enabling women to nurture skills that are otherwise denied to them under current policies.
Beyond education, the internet is also vital for economic survival. Many women and marginalized individuals rely on remote work opportunities, online businesses, and digital banking to support their families. The ban effectively cuts off their ability to earn an income, increasing poverty and dependence in a society where they already face systemic discrimination.
Equally alarming is the silencing of voices. The internet has been a space where women, ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights defenders could share their experiences with the outside world. By blocking this access, authorities further isolate these groups, erasing their presence and making abuses less visible to the international community.
In essence, the internet ban is not just a restriction of technology but a deliberate attempt to erase opportunities, silence dissent, and deepen oppression. For Afghan women, girls, and other persecuted communities, it represents the loss of one of the last tools for dignity, empowerment, and global connection.
Roqia, a LEARN Afghan student
Today, technology and social media are really important. If we don’t have internet, then how can we continue our education? We are already banned from schools. We didn’t give up, and we started school online, but what should we do when they ban the internet?
What is the point of living when we can’t do anything for our future and ourselves? When the Taliban took over our country, they told us not to go to school. Then they told us to not go outside our homes. Now they banned internet. Maybe after a while they will tell us to not even breath. If internet is banned in Afghanistan, then we totally lost our way to our dreams. Internet can connect us to people around the world so all can hear our voices. Here is what will happen if internet is banned:
First, education will be taken away from girls, as most of us study online due to bans on attending school and university.
Second, work opportunities will be taken away from girls and women, as most of us in Afghanistan work online, which is the only way we can work.
Third, freedom of expression will be taken away. Although the Taliban previously banned girls from attending schools and don’t want us to exist in public, we continue to share our voices through the internet on social media to raise awareness and advocate for rights globally.
Fourth, our connection to the world will be taken away. Internet is a lifeline to the outside world, offering mental support, community, and hope.
Lastly, the safety and privacy many of us seek through help on the internet will be taken away.
In conclusion, removing internet access intensifies isolation, increases poverty, and silences those who are already marginalized, making an already dire situation worse.
Saliha, a LEARN Afghan student
The internet ban in Afghanistan has had a devastating impact on Afghan women, girls, and other persecuted communities. In a world that is increasingly connected, access to the internet is not a luxury, it is a necessity.
For Afghan women and girls, the internet served as a gateway to education, work opportunities, and global awareness. When schools and universities were closed to girls, many continued their education online. Now, with internet restrictions and censorship, even that last lifeline has been taken away.
Women entrepreneurs who relied on social media and online platforms to run small businesses are now struggling to survive. Beyond education and economy, the internet was also a space for expression, hope, and connection. Many women used it to share their stories, raise their voices, and connect with the world. For marginalized groups –such as ethnic minorities and human rights activists –the internet was a rare tool to document abuses and seek support. The ban effectively silences them, pushing them into deeper isolation.
This digital blackout widens the gender gap and deepens inequality in a country already facing numerous crises. Cutting off the internet doesn’t just block access to websites, it cuts people off from the world, from opportunity, and from basic rights.
In short, the internet ban is not just about technology, it is about freedom and survival. For Afghan women and other oppressed groups, this is more than inconvenient — it is catastrophic.
Saliha, a LEARN Afghan student
The internet ban in Afghanistan is not just about losing access to websites or social media. For many women and girls, it feels like losing the only light left in a very dark tunnel. When schools and universities were closed for us, the internet became our classrooms, our teacher, and sometimes our only friend. Online courses and digital lessons gave us a way to keep learning and to keep our dreams alive. Without it, those dreams begin to fade, and many of us are left with nothing but silence.
The internet is also a workplace. Thousands of Afghan women depend on it for their jobs teaching, small businesses, or remote work with organizations outside the country. Cutting this connection means cutting their income, their sense of dignity, and the little independence they had. For many it’s like being locked in a room with no window.
Families, too, are affected. When education and work disappear, many parents believe that marriage is the only option for their daughters. But early or forced marriage is not a solution; it is another kind of prison. It usually brings depression, hopelessness, and sometimes even suicide.
I have lived this struggle myself. I was kept away from education for four years, and I felt my future collapse in front of me. At times, I wondered why I should keep living at all. But online education gave me a chance to return to study, to teach, and to feel alive again. If that chance is taken away, I fear many others will never find a way back.
For Afghan women, banning the internet does not only stop connection, it stops life itself.
