The Malala Fund has condemned the Taliban’s shutdown of fiber optic internet services in Afghanistan, calling it another attack on the rights of Afghans — especially women and girls already barred from education and work.
In a statement, the organization said online learning had been the only option for thousands of girls to continue their studies under the Taliban’s ban on secondary schooling.
Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and co-founder of the Malala Fund, urged the immediate restoration of internet access nationwide. She called the Taliban’s order to cut fiber-optic services in at least 11 provinces a “false excuse” to curb what the group labeled immoral activity.
“Cutting the internet is the Taliban’s latest attempt under their brutal gender apartheid to sever Afghan women and girls from the world,” Yousafzai said. “Without internet, they are deprived of education and connection. Governments must act urgently to pressure the Taliban to reverse this decision.”
Ziauddin Yousafzai, also a co-founder of the Malala Fund, warned that the Taliban’s four-year campaign to erase women from public life now threatens the future of an entire generation.
Women’s rights activist Zarqa Yaftali said the shutdown not only undermines girls’ education but also silences the critical work of women who have been central to sustaining their communities.
Zarmina, a 23-year-old from Kabul, told the Malala Fund: “The Taliban have taken away our right to education, jobs and freedom, and now they want to cut off our access to the internet. This means plunging the people of Afghanistan into total darkness.”
The Malala Fund called on governments worldwide to use all available means to restore internet access in Afghanistan.
