Governments must take immediate action as Afghan girls lose access to online learning and communication.
Malala Fund condemns the Taliban’s decision to shut down fixed-line internet in at least 11 provinces under the absurd pretense of preventing “immoral activities”.
This is yet another attack on the rights of the Afghan people — especially girls and women who are banned from secondary school, university and employment, and confined to their homes.
This week marks four years of the ban on girls’ secondary education. Online learning has been one of the last lifelines to education for thousands of Afghan girls.
“Shutting down the internet is the Taliban’s latest attempt, under their brutal system of gender apartheid, to cut Afghan women and girls off from the world,” said Malala Yousafzai, co-founder of Malala Fund. “Without reliable internet access, they cannot access their courses or connect with their peers and teachers. This cannot be tolerated. Governments must immediately put maximum pressure on the Taliban to reverse the internet shutdown and restore Afghan girls and women’s basic rights, especially their right to education.”
“I am deeply concerned with the impact of this internet blackout on Afghan girls’ wellbeing, as they face yet another restriction on their freedom,” added Ziauddin Yousafzai, co-founder of Malala Fund. “For four years, the Taliban have tried to erase girls and women from society, stripping them of all human rights and robbing an entire generation of girls of their future. We must continue standing with the Afghan people as they fight for their freedom.”
The Taliban is deliberately cutting off girls and women’s access to knowledge and communication as part of their system of gender apartheid, designed to control girls and women and erase them from the fabric of society. Morality is just a cover.
“By cutting internet access, the Taliban are not only halting education but also silencing the vital work of women who have been the lifeline for countless communities,” said Zarqa Yaftali, founder of Women and Children Research and Advocacy Network (WCRAN). “These women have relied on online platforms to deliver their work, provide critical services, advocate for human rights and coordinate life-saving programmes.”
“First the Taliban denied us the right to education, then employment and the freedom to leave our homes without fear of punishment. They have restricted access to humanitarian aid and treated us all along as sub-human,” shared Zarmina*, 23, from Kabul. “They have taken almost everything from us; shutting down the internet will plunge the people of Afghanistan into total darkness. Please raise our voice so this does not happen.”
We stand with Afghan girls and women in their fight for education and freedom, and with our partners who are providing girls with vital alternatives to formal education. We call on governments to push for the restoration of full internet access in Afghanistan.