Mursal’s Voice for Change | Column 3

Today’s world is a place where everything is connected through the internet – from a simple call with family to global trade, all depend on these virtual networks. In these days, when other countries are thinking about developing technologies, artificial intelligence, and even travelling to space, Afghanistan faced a harsh reality; the shutdown of the internet.

The internet blackout did not only mean that phone screens went dark or social media stopped working. This issue could paralyze the daily life of people. Youth who were studying online no longer had access to educational resources. Employees who had online jobs were losing both their jobs and the source of their income, journalists and writers who raised the unheard voices of Afghan people to the world were trapped in complete silence and isolation. This was not only a technical problem. It caused the separation of families, the loss of jobs, the loss of educational opportunities, and the loss of voices that needed to be heard. 

Those two days without the internet brought many difficulties but the hardest one was the separation of hearts. In a country where thousands of families are scattered far apart, the internet was the only bridge of connection. A young girl living away from her family waited every morning for her father's call from Afghanistan. She waited to hear that her mother was fine, to know that her brother had returned home safely from school, and that her family was ok. But phones were silent and fear was covering her world. There was no way to reach anyone inside Afghanistan. 

I also experienced the same pain because I live far away from my family and my homeland. It has been one and half years since I left Afghanistan but my soul still lives in my own country. Since I have come here, I wake up every morning with the hope of receiving a message or call from my parents. But the days when there was no internet in Afghanistan, that routine changed. I woke up to receiving no messages, no calls, and no voice from my family. I did not even know whether they were all safe or not and my life was full of silence.

I am a writer, and I live through the words I write. Especially when I am sad, it is just writing that can accompany me. But in those two days I felt that no word can replace a simple video call with my father, no sentence can ease the pain of not knowing how my mother is. The silence was not just an internet outage,  it was taking the little hope left in Afghanistan.

This internet outage had a very bad effect on Afghanistan and its people because it signified moving backward instead of forward. While the world is advancing towards new technologies and a better future, my homeland is being pulled into silence and darkness. For me, this silence means being away and not knowing anything about the people who are my everything; my family. I write these words with longing and pain, hoping that my voice will break the silence, that someone knows there is sorrow and sadness behind it.  I write so my words will carry the unread pain of my people. I write to tell the world that this was not only the shutdown of the internet, but behind that silence millions of hearts were beating, waiting for even a simple message.

I, not only as an Afghan girl but also as a writer, ask the world; do not forget us. Do not ignore the silence of Afghanistan. When Kabul is silent, this is not just Kabul. It is the voice of thousands of students, workers, mothers, and families being silenced today. 

I will continue to write and raise the unheard voices of my people, believing that my country will have a brighter future, and it will no longer face such backwardness. I carry the hope that my country will focus on developing instead of shutting the internet down. I will always carry this hope in my heart because in my belief, hope is the only thing which can keep us alive.

Welcome to 'Mursal’s Voice for Change'

"Mursal’s Voice for Change” is a monthly column that sheds light on the untold stories of Afghan women and their struggles, both inside the country and in exile. Written from the perspective of Mursal Qaisari, an Afghan student of International Relations and writer who has lived through war, displacement, and resilience, the column explores the challenges of women’s rights, the pain of exile, and the hopes for a more just and equal world. Through personal reflections and broader narratives, it connects the realities of Afghan women and Afghanistan as a whole to the wider struggles faced by people across the globe.