The Afghanistan Women’s Justice Movement (AWJM) has strongly condemned the Taliban’s decision to cut fiber-optic internet across Afghanistan, calling it a deliberate assault on women’s rights, education, and freedom of expression.
In a statement released today, the women-led grassroots movement warned that the blackout disproportionately targets women and girls, many of whom rely on digital platforms for access to education, healthcare, advocacy, and survival under Taliban repression.
“The Taliban are weaponizing internet shutdowns to further isolate Afghan women, silence civil society, and restrict global awareness of their crimes,” the statement read. AWJM emphasized that this measure not only violates fundamental human rights but also deepens Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis by cutting off communities from vital information and emergency support.
The group urged the United Nations, international human rights organizations, and global digital rights networks to hold the Taliban accountable and to pressure for the immediate restoration of internet services. It also called on regional governments, including Pakistan and Iran, to resist enabling the Taliban’s authoritarian controls and instead support Afghan civil society voices in exile.
AWJM concluded that restricting digital access is part of the Taliban’s broader strategy of gender apartheid, underscoring that “Afghanistan’s women will not be silenced, whether inside the country or across borders.”
