Taliban telecoms blackout plunges Afghanistan into digital darkness

The Taliban has imposed a nationwide telecoms blackout across Afghanistan, a move slammed by human rights organisations as causing severe harm to people’s fundamental rights, safety, and livelihoods.

The blackout – which was rolled out throughout September – has crippled access to healthcare, education, commerce, and media, effectively cutting the nation off from the outside world.

According to a new report from Human Rights Watch, the disruption began in the middle of last month when Taliban officials started blocking fibre optic connectivity in several northern provinces of Afghanistan. The stated justification for the move was to prevent “immoral behaviour.”

The blackout rapidly expanded, culminating in a total communications blackout in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, from 5pm on September 29th, when both fibre and mobile internet services were suspended. By September 30th, Proton VPN confirmed that Afghanistan had been completely forced offline.

The action has drawn sharp condemnation from rights advocates who are witnessing the devastating real-world consequences of the digital blockade.

“The Taliban’s moves to cut internet access harms the livelihoods of millions of Afghans and deprives them of their basic rights to education, healthcare, and access to information,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The Taliban should drop its baseless rationales and end these shutdowns.”

The immediate effects were felt across society. Following the blackout in Kabul, media outlets reported that businesses faced disruption and flights in and out of the capital’s airport were cancelled. The blackout has effectively paralysed Afghanistan’s already fragile economy and severed communication lines.

Most cruelly, the internet ban has slammed shut one of the last remaining doors to education for women and girls. After being barred from attending secondary schools and universities, many had turned to online classes to continue their learning. A university lecturer told Human Rights Watch that on the evening of the Kabul shutdown, only nine of their 28 students were able to join an online class. Of the 18 women in Afghanistan enrolled, none could connect.

This digital isolation deepens the marginalisation of women by the Taliban in Afghanistan, removing a critical avenue for learning, accessing information, and finding online employment. Activists report that the ban severely undermines their efforts to support their communities, with initiatives and services led by and for women being particularly affected.

Journalists inside the country find themselves unable to work. With both mobile and fibre optic networks down, even basic local and international calls using platforms like WhatsApp and Signal are impossible. This communications vacuum makes it incredibly difficult to document the full scope of the shutdown’s impact, as reaching anyone inside Afghanistan has become a near-impossible task.

The blackout by the Taliban is also precipitating a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Aid groups have warned that their ability to respond to the needs of the Afghan people is being seriously hindered. Modern humanitarian operations depend heavily on internet connectivity for coordination, outreach, and the efficient delivery of aid.

Indrika Ratwatte, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, brought attention to the gravity of the situation. He said the shutdowns were affecting day-to-day business and the provision of critical aid.

“This is another crisis on top of the existing crises, and the impact is going to be on the lives of Afghan people,” Ratwatte stated.

Access to the internet is now widely recognised by international bodies as an essential enabler of human rights.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has previously reported on the dramatic and damaging effects of such shutdowns. They not only impact freedom of expression and political participation but also public safety, work, and health, while exacerbating pre-existing social, economic, and gender-based inequalities.

Both the OHCHR and the UN Human Rights Council have consistently urged governments to refrain from imposing internet blackouts. For the people of Afghanistan, this telecoms blackout is the latest move by the Taliban that represents a catastrophic step backward and compounds their suffering and isolation.

“Afghans were already isolated from the world but now they are completely cut off,” Abbasi concluded. “The longer the Taliban internet shutdowns continue, the more harmful the consequences for both the people and the country.”

See also: Tim Berners-Lee: The web is no longer open and free

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Tags: 5G, afghanistan, blackout, broadband, connectivity, government, human rights, internet, networks, taliban, telecoms, united nations