The War on Porn Regular Updates about the Assault on The Adult Industry
Related Articles
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban has cut off internet access across large parts of northern Afghanistan, a move it says is intended to curb “immoral activities.”
According to Reuters, the shutdown initially targeted five provinces — Kunduz, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Takhar, and Balkh — and blocked all fiber-optic connections. Reports later suggested the blackout had expanded to as many as 10 provinces. While mobile internet technically remains available, service is unreliable and in many areas largely inaccessible.
Taliban officials have long expressed concerns over pornography, framing it as a justification for stricter online controls. “This measure was taken to prevent immorality, and an alternative will be built within the country for necessities,” Haji Attaullah Zaid, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Balkh province, told the Associated Press.
Critics, however, argue the ban is far more sweeping than necessary. Former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad noted that many Islamic countries filter explicit content without imposing a nationwide blackout. “If pornography is really the concern, it can easily be filtered,” he wrote on X.com, warning that the Taliban is using the issue as a pretext to limit access to information.
“The justification for the decision is absurd and insulting,” Khalilzad added. “It will damage not only the province’s economy but the country’s prospects as a whole.”
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai also condemned the move, calling it part of the Taliban’s broader assault on women’s rights. “Shutting down the internet is the Taliban’s latest attempt, under their brutal system of gender apartheid, to cut Afghan women and girls off from the world,” she wrote.
The internet restrictions deepen concerns that Afghanistan is becoming increasingly isolated under Taliban rule, with significant consequences for its economy, education system, and civil society.
