For many women, the internet was their last resource. An internet shutdown threatens to end this.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4824110

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The country is currently experiencing a “total internet blackout” according to internet watchdog Netblocks - a move that has paralysed the country’s essential services.

International news agencies say they have lost contact with offices in the capital Kabul. Mobile internet and satellite TV has also been severely disrupted across Afghanistan. Flights from Kabul airport have also been disrupted, according to local media reports.

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Anas, a money changer in Takhar province, says his business has faced “enormous problems” since the internet shutdown, saying that much of his work depends on the internet.

“Our business has been affected by about 90%,” he says. “Yesterday, my brother who is also my business partner tried to send an email to a client. He couldn’t get it through.”

But his main concern are his three daughters - all of whom used to take online classes.

"The night before, we heard the Taliban had cut internet access in Mazar, and my eldest daughter came to me with tears in her eyes and said she feared the same would happen here.

“Their last opportunity to study is now gone. Seeing my children so helpless… [that was] the hardest for me. Only God knows what will happen to them and to me.”

    • Barbecue Cowboy@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      17·
      9 hours ago

      I think what’s happening now is the revolution for the most part, this might be what those citizens would be pushing for. It’s hard to find objective data on ‘popularity of the taliban in afghanistan’, but you can find a thousand articles on how unpopular every other possible idea has been there. The Taliban are seen as the only option for stability and security for some in the region. There are still protests against the taliban going on, but the numbers are kinda scary when you compare it to the size of the Taliban forces…

      Have to remember that priorities as to what constitutes a successful society can be radically different in other countries and sometimes it feels very unhinged and short sighted.

      • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.clubEnglish
        2·
        7 hours ago

        Eh. I look at the Taliban more as local self-determination. Those with political power in these small towns don’t want anything that can jeopardize their power and control.

    • Maeve@kbin.earth
      73·
      10 hours ago

      Maybe it’s because POTUS is talking about a return of US troops.