The Taliban has imposed a nationwide telecommunications blackout across Afghanistan, a measure human rights organizations say is inflicting serious harm on people’s rights, safety, and livelihoods.
Implemented during September, the blackout has crippled access to healthcare, education, commerce, and media, severing key connections both within the country and to the outside world.
A Human Rights Watch report states the disruption began in mid-September when Taliban officials blocked fibre-optic connectivity in several northern provinces, citing the prevention of “immoral behaviour” as justification.
The blackout quickly expanded. On September 29, at 5pm, both fibre and mobile internet services were suspended in Kabul, the capital. By the next day, Proton VPN confirmed that Afghanistan had been taken completely offline.
Rights advocates have sharply condemned the move, warning of widespread and immediate damage to daily life and fundamental freedoms.
“The Taliban’s decision to cut internet access hurts the livelihoods of millions and denies people basic rights to education, healthcare, and information,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Taliban should abandon these baseless rationales and end the shutdowns.”
The blackout’s effects were felt across society. Following the shutdown in Kabul, businesses reported major disruptions and flights at the capital’s airport were cancelled. The measure has effectively paralyzed Afghanistan’s fragile economy and severed vital communication channels.
Most painfully, the ban has closed one of the few remaining routes to education for women and girls. After being barred from secondary schools and universities, many relied on online classes to continue learning. A university lecturer told Human Rights Watch that on the evening of the Kabul shutdown only nine of 28 students could join an online session; of 18 female students enrolled, none were able to connect.
This digital isolation deepens the marginalization of women by removing a critical means of learning, accessing information, and earning income remotely. Activists report the ban severely undermines community support efforts, with women-led initiatives and services particularly affected.
Journalists inside Afghanistan say they are unable to work. With both mobile and fibre-optic networks down, even basic local and international communications via apps like WhatsApp and Signal are impossible. That communications vacuum makes it extremely difficult to document the full scope of the shutdown’s impact, as contacting people inside the country has become nearly impossible.
The blackout is also aggravating a humanitarian crisis. Aid organizations warn that their ability to respond to urgent needs is being seriously hindered. Modern humanitarian operations depend heavily on internet connectivity for coordination, outreach, monitoring, and delivery of assistance.
Indrika Ratwatte, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, highlighted the severity of the situation, noting that the shutdowns are affecting everyday business and the delivery of critical aid. “This is another crisis on top of the existing crises, and the impact will be felt in the lives of Afghan people,” Ratwatte said.
International bodies increasingly recognize internet access as an essential enabler of human rights. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented the damaging effects of shutdowns: they restrict freedom of expression and political participation, undermine public safety, impede work and health services, and worsen existing social, economic, and gender-based inequalities.
Both the OHCHR and the UN Human Rights Council have consistently urged governments to avoid imposing internet blackouts. For Afghans, this nationwide telecoms shutdown represents a severe and regressive step that compounds isolation and suffering.
“Afghans were already isolated from the world, and now they are completely cut off,” Abbasi said. “The longer the Taliban continues these internet shutdowns, the greater the harm to individuals and the country as a whole.”
Note: This article focuses on the documented impacts of the communications blackout in Afghanistan as reported by human rights organizations and UN officials. No additional claims or unverifiable information have been added.