News Center — Afghan Women Face Increased Challenges Amid Communication Blackout

Women in Afghanistan are facing growing challenges following the disruption of internet and communication services, which has deprived them of education, income, and support, deepened their isolation, and directly affected their daily lives.

The Regional Office of the United Nations Women’s Agency in Asia and the Pacific announced on Friday, November 28, a report revealing that the Taliban in Afghanistan had cut internet and communication services for 48 hours, between September 29 and October 1.

The report explained that this shutdown heightened feelings of fear and isolation, contributed to the spread of misinformation, and had severe impacts on women’s lives, depriving them of access to support, income, education, and communication.

Specifically, the report highlighted the disruptions caused to humanitarian programs and the provision of basic necessities, noting that the large-scale outage of phone and internet networks also disabled the only national hotline providing services to victims of gender-based violence.

The Regional Office of UN Women stressed the importance of strengthening institutional preparedness and rapid response in Afghanistan, warning that such widespread outages severely affect women’s lives and the implementation of support programs.

The United Nations emphasized that digital access for women is an essential necessity and a protection mechanism, not a luxury, calling for greater support for women in Afghanistan during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.