KABUL: In a dim home used as a small business in Afghanistan, women bent over bright cloth use needles to form intricate embroidery. But their fiber-optic network in Kandahar — their primary link to buyers — has now gone dark.
Local government officials confirmed a ban on fiber-optic services in five northern provinces — Balkh, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Takhar and Baghlan. Officials said the ban is to prevent “immoral activities.” Residents in other provinces, including Kandahar, Herat and Parwan have reported disruptions, though these have not been formally acknowledged by authorities.
The loss of access to the fiber-optic network has stranded thousands of homes, businesses and schools and left them reliant on costly, patchy mobile phone connections.
The measure is the first large-scale Internet shutdown since the Islamist group seized power in 2021, though it is not nationwide.
For Sabrinna Hayat, who runs Hayat Handicrafts with nine women breadwinners stitching firaq partug, the long embroidered dresses commonly worn by Afghan women, along with other handmade items, the outage has tripled Internet costs.
