File photo courtesy of Wall Street Journal

 

The Taliban recently implemented a nationwide internet shutdown in Afghanistan, which has devastated many, especially women, cutting off their last remaining link to education and the outside world. This move eliminates the last educational opportunities for Afghan women like Fahima Noori, who had been striving for higher education through online courses. The shutdown, which began on Tuesday, is reportedly indefinite, paralysing crucial services and limiting access to online learning, which was a vital resource for women who have faced severe educational restrictions since the Taliban's return to power in 2021.

 

The internet was a beacon of hope for many Afghan women after the Taliban imposed educational and employment restrictions on females, banning girls over 12 from schooling and removing women-authored books from universities. Fahima had enrolled in an online university, pinning her hopes on completing her education and securing an online job. The recent nationwide disconnection, part of the Taliban’s campaign to curb what they call "immorality," has extinguished those dreams. Netblocks, an internet watchdog, reports a "total internet blackout" affecting not only education but also other essential services, with disruptions in communication and transportation.

 

The shutdown's impact has been felt across Afghanistan, with international news agencies losing communication with their Kabul offices are experiencing disruptions; flights from Kabul airport have been affected, and mobile and satellite connections are also impacted. also suffered. Teachers and students are in distress, with online educators like Zabi facing financial ruin as students could no longer access online classes and exams. Many, like Anas, a money changer, have seen their businesses struggling due to the lack of internet, severely limiting their operations.

 

Looking forward, the absence of internet access leaves little hope for immediate resolution, with the Taliban government offering no clear alternative or timeline. Many Afghans are left wondering about future opportunities, with significant disruptions in education and business sectors. The challenges posed by the shutdown expose the grim reality for women and educators who rely heavily on the internet for their livelihoods and education.

 

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• The Taliban's internet shutdown crushes Afghan women's educational avenues.
• Essential services and businesses face severe disruptions due to the blackout.
• Uncertainty looms as there is no clear plan for restoring internet access.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-10-01

 

 

Why no remarks from all you Marxist that post on the board?  Where are the Women Rights Groups on this?  Shows how phony you all are.

Well, talk about regressive and let's go back to the Stone Age. Such a backward religion that is delivered to people at the end of a sword.

Interesting that the BBC is trying to mould this into an issue of women's education.

 

Shutting down the internet creates all kinds of major issues. Fatima being 2 days late submitting her essay for her Open University course is not one of them.  

 

No more tiktok, tweets, Facebook ......

What will all those women do on their phones all day .... Candy crush?

That's what (religious) fascists do. Shut down alternative information channels, so there's no counter-information to their propaganda!

 

Of course, it's also a disaster for girls trying to educated themselves despite bans!

22 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Interesting that the BBC is trying to mould this into an issue of women's education.

 

Shutting down the internet creates all kinds of major issues. Fatima being 2 days late submitting her essay for her Open University course is not one of them.  

 

 

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

No more tiktok, tweets, Facebook ......

What will all those women do on their phones all day .... Candy crush?

Of course, some posters find ways to joke about the disastrous situation of girls in this religious dictature.....🙂

2 minutes ago, candide said:

That's what (religious) fascists do. Shut down alternative information channels, so there's no counter-information to their propaganda!

 

Of course, it's also a disaster for girls trying to educated themselves despite bans!

News is all crap anyway!

Musk can come to rescue by dropping a shed load of free star-link receivers

with instructions to disguise them as something else to avoid detection by authorities.

7 minutes ago, candide said:

That's what (religious) fascists do. Shut down alternative information channels, so there's no counter-information to their propaganda!

 

Reminds of Labour going after Twitter/X.

 

They'd rather their BBC was the single source of truth. 

The subject is so out of place that the headline grabbed me. Who cares about this crap?  For those who do, what are you going to do to rectify the situation? 

57 minutes ago, candide said:

That's what (religious) fascists do. Shut down alternative information channels, so there's no counter-information to their propaganda!

 

Of course, it's also a disaster for girls trying to educated themselves despite bans!

 

That's an interesting slant on this. I remember watching a YouTube video from and ex-muslim that said that Islam is struggling so much with the internet, as it's losing the narrative on its religion. This guy likened it to what happened to the Vatican and Catholicism in the late 15th century when the printing press was introduced, as the Bible suddenly was translated into the common tongue (English) and not Latin, as almost no-one could speak Latin at the time, and the priests that could were the gatekeepers of the meaning/message and scripture lesson (i.e. control)... so no-one in the masses could question the priests as they had no idea. That's all gone long ago with Christianity.

However, the Koran is written is classical Arabic which is way different to the Arabic of today, so same similarities... and this video essentually said that the internet will do the same to Islam/the Koran that the printing press did to Catholicism and the Bible, i.e. people will no longer need clerics to pass the message on and folks can decide for themselves (so, loss of control). That would go a long way to explain why the Taliban crazies have now banned it... they don't want educated people, as they are troublesome and ask questions, and the Taliban also fears losing control.

38 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

The subject is so out of place that the headline grabbed me. Who cares about this crap?  For those who do, what are you going to do to rectify the situation? 

I care ! 

How about treating women equally and even non gender description?

Such goombahs. Nobody really knows what was spent in Afghanistan. The US figures are fake. Cheney had a resolution passed, back in the day, that essentially allowed the US to fight the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq "off the books". The real number is likely several trillion in Afghanistan, and a comparable amount in Iraq. For what? Though the intentions for Afghanistan were reasonable, in Iraq they were diabolical. 

 

So, what has been achieved? And why does the US continue with it's foreign policy blunders, and why does it not seem capable of learning from history? Sheer hubris? Arrogance? Ignorant neocon ideas?

 

So many lives lost. Few like the Taliban, and fewer liked Hussein. But, this? 

 

No the aspect that's being left out is that the terrorists will never be eliminated, ever. Not in our lifetime, not ever. The more Israel bombs the Palestinians the more terrorists are created, the more the US invades countries like a Iraq and Afghanistan the more terrorists are created.

The US and Israel are a wet dream for terrorist recruiters, you don't get that by now? It is an ancient concept called blowback. Blowback my take a year, blowback my take a decade, blowback might take a century, but blowback is real and blowback happens, and we seem to encourage it. 

Thinking that endless bombing, endless genocide, and endless killing of civilians will somehow eliminate terrorists is absolute and pure hubris, and built upon a foundation of ignorance.

2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Such goombahs. Nobody really knows what was spent in Afghanistan. The US figures are fake. Cheney had a resolution passed, back in the day, that essentially allowed the US to fight the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq "off the books". The real number is likely several trillion in Afghanistan, and a comparable amount in Iraq. For what? Though the intentions for Afghanistan were reasonable, in Iraq they were diabolical. 

 

So, what has been achieved? And why does the US continue with it's foreign policy blunders, and why does it not seem capable of learning from history? Sheer hubris? Arrogance? Ignorant neocon ideas?

 

So many lives lost. Few like the Taliban, and fewer liked Hussein. But, this? 

 

No the aspect that's being left out is that the terrorists will never be eliminated, ever. Not in our lifetime, not ever. The more Israel bombs the Palestinians the more terrorists are created, the more the US invades countries like a Iraq and Afghanistan the more terrorists are created.

The US and Israel are a wet dream for terrorist recruiters, you don't get that by now? It is an ancient concept called blowback. Blowback my take a year, blowback my take a decade, blowback might take a century, but blowback is real and blowback happens, and we seem to encourage it. 

Thinking that endless bombing, endless genocide, and endless killing of civilians will somehow eliminate terrorists is absolute and pure hubris, and built upon a foundation of ignorance.

Oh don't be so negative 

It's provide jobs & employment

17 hours ago, thaipo7 said:

Why no remarks from all you Marxist that post on the board?  Where are the Women Rights Groups on this?  Shows how phony you all are.

I don’t know any Marxist in person or on this site now I do know lots of folks on this site who do a lot of assuming and conflating to be sure.Lots of us lucid folks have been caught up in trumps attempts to turn the military lose on us Americans at home…im sure you understand.as to this thread in my view it’s a shame to deny ANYONE a chance at an education regardless of their sex/religious/or economic background.to bad the afghans didn’t snuff out the Taliban when they had the chance.now they are screwed to bad good riddance.

On 10/2/2025 at 2:52 PM, JonnyF said:

 

Reminds of Labour going after Twitter/X.

 

They'd rather their BBC was the single source of truth. 

Your lame attempts at dissing the BBC are a joke.

To suggest that Labour (shouldn’t that be Liebour? Snigger snigger) regard the Corporation as “their BBC” exposes your ignorance.

Have a look at the senior figures from Director General down and you’ll find a tranche of Tory supporters and donors in positions of influence.

Oh, and look how much airtime is given over to the thoughts of the absentee Member for Clacton.

That pesky lefty BBC eh? Yeah right.

6 hours ago, Red Forever said:

Your lame attempts at dissing the BBC are a joke.

To suggest that Labour (shouldn’t that be Liebour? Snigger snigger) regard the Corporation as “their BBC” exposes your ignorance.

Have a look at the senior figures from Director General down and you’ll find a tranche of Tory supporters and donors in positions of influence.

Oh, and look how much airtime is given over to the thoughts of the absentee Member for Clacton.

That pesky lefty BBC eh? Yeah right.

 

It always amuses me how the lefties simultaneously hold the position of supporting the BBC to the death while also claiming it is right wing.

 

That tells you all you need to know about their disingenuity. 

 

It must be exhausting having to gaslight all the time. No wonder you're all so miserable. 😄