Taliban internet clampdown: will Europe revive academic support to Afghan women?

When Kabul fell to the Taliban, Europe increased its efforts to finance specific programmes in support of Afghan students. Four years later, funding has largely run out, yet the number of applicants is still far greater than the places available. Meanwhile, the pressure on women and girls in academia continues to grow.

A two-day internet blackout last month, followed by social media restrictions once services returned, may be enough to prompt a renewal of EU support.

“The recent internet shutdown only adds another layer of isolation, cutting off one of the last remaining lifelines for education and connection to the outside world,” said Nela Riehl, who sits with the Greens/European Free Alliance in the European Parliament and chairs its culture and education committee, in a statement to Science|Business.

The situation of Afghan women and girls is a special concern. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they have been stripped of their basic rights and practically erased from all public spheres. The hardline Islamist group has issued dozens of edicts restricting their freedom of movement and of expression, has removed them from most jobs, and barred them from classrooms beyond the age of 12.

Online methods of education emerged to counter the authorities’ misogynistic policies, but these have not been equally accessible, with just 30.5% of Afghans using the internet at the start of the year, according to data specialist DataReportal.

The nationwide blackout, which in late September paralysed essential services, was rapidly attributed to the Taliban, who have reportedly denied responsibility. Yet two weeks prior, several Afghan provinces experienced similar outages. A Taliban spokesperson in one of the regions, Haji Attaullah Zaid, wrote on social media that it was part of efforts “to prevent immorality.”

While most of Afghanistan is back online, internet monitoring organisation NetBlocks reported more localised shutdowns and social media content restrictions in early October, which risk depriving women of their last option for accessing information.

Online education

“The online educational opportunities seized by Afghan women and girls in reaction to their exclusion from the formal education system shows their continued hope, resistance and belief in a future where they can make themselves heard and seen, and the internet shutdowns by the Taliban are a cowardly response to this,” said Imke Steimann, who heads the office of the secretary general of the Global Campus of Human Rights. “The internet is the only option currently available to girls past the sixth grade to receive education, aside from underground schools, and should be kept open.”

Sahar Education in the US is one organisation that has tried to circumvent the censorship measures in place since 2021.

“Sahar’s programmes have largely operated underground, avoiding scrutiny and control by the Taliban through partnerships with in-country organisations and creative solutions to locations, transport and safety protocols,” Allie Renar, operations and finance manager at Sahar, told Science|Business. “Last year, we started an online programme to reach students who are unable to attend in-person courses either because of safety concerns or geographic limitations.”

Designed for female students over 14 years of age, Secret Scholars Online consists of an app-based programme for English and maths learning, as well as small groups led by female Afghan teachers who operate via Google Classroom and WhatsApp.

But like most non-profit organisations, Sahar could use more support. This year alone, it applied for 26 grants. “We apply for funding calls regularly, but [. . .] there are so many organisations now vying for the same dollars,” Renar said.

Meanwhile, many Afghans have reported being economically coerced into sending their daughters to madrasas, Islamic schools that the Taliban seek to make the only education available to women and girls in the country, she added. “The Taliban know, just as well as we do, that sustaining power requires the brainwashing of the youth.” She called on the EU to finance empowerment projects and curricula “that can expand the minds of Afghan girls and boys.”

Europe’s fading support

EU support for programmes set up specifically for Afghan students has waned in recent years.

An emergency fund that ran from 2021 to 2024 allowed the Global Campus of Human Rights to set up a scholarship programme for Afghan students and scholars at risk. This continued into 2025 thanks to a private donation, but according to Steimann, it had to be phased out in July due to a lack of funds.

“Of course, it would have been ideal to have a continuation of these funds, not least because we still receive requests from Afghans and know that the situation for many has not improved over the past years,” she said. “At the same time, we are painfully aware of operating in a human rights and humanitarian environment in which crises are increasing in number and intensity, while funds are shrinking and media attention is shifting.”

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The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) had also offered support to Afghan students. Backed by about €7 million from the government, Empower Future Female Afghan Leaders set out to fund up to 5,000 scholarships between 2023 and 2027 for displaced Afghan students who fled Taliban repression to neighbouring Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan or Pakistan. 

DAAD has already awarded 260 scholarships, but its hosting capacity is limited and the programme is likely to be cut short.

“Due to the very high volume of applications, a pre-selection process had to be conducted,” said Philipp Effertz, head of section for special projects and programmes for at-risk students and researchers at DAAD. “As all funds have been allocated, awarding new scholarships would only be possible with additional funding.” 

DAAD’s incoming mobility programmes for non-German students receive hundreds of applications per year from Afghans as well, but less than 5% can be funded, he added.

Flexible mechanisms

For the Parliament, Riehl wants to see more flexible mechanisms explored, including simplified visa procedures for women at risk and partnerships with European universities to host them. 

A European Commission spokesperson suggested that the EU could also look at supporting radio programmes and pre-downloaded digital content, but warned that “connectivity remains an essential tool to amplify all types of opportunities, education included.”

Meanwhile, Afghan refugees continue to converge on Europe. 

Since a 2024 European court ruling, Afghan women and girls are recognised as refugees based solely on their gender and nationality. Nearly 20,000 sought asylum in the EU from January to June 2025, almost half of them under 18. This figure could increase now that the US, which relocated roughly 200,000 Afghans after 2021, has suspended refugee settlement, barred entry to Afghan nationals and ended Afghanistan’s temporary protected status.

“Providing effective pathways for Afghan students and scholars to access educational opportunities in Europe [. . .] is a small contribution to keeping a spirit of hope and a vision of an alternative Afghanistan,” Steimann said. “The very real and daunting alternative is a new generation of women fully cut off from any type of education opportunity, and a society facing extremely limited possibilities to mobilise for change.”