‘It kept our spirits alive’: Taliban’s internet blackout leaves girls in despair

Many women in Afghanistan can no longer communicate or study online after fibre-optic internet is cut in 12 provinces

Last week, 17-year-old Marjaneh* sat at her computer, waiting for her nightly online English lessons to begin. At 7pm, the scheduled start time, her laptop screen stayed black. The family’s wifi, like the wireless internet across her neighbourhood, had gone and with it, her only chance to continue her education.

“These online classes were my only source of hope,” says Marjaneh, speaking from Afghanistan through a crackling phone connection. “I thought, when they [Taliban] closed schools at least they wouldn’t cut the internet, but now that has been taken away too.”