Do not break the Taliban's isolation

After banning music, education for girls aged twelve and up, women working outside government supervision or traveling unaccompanied, shaved beards , beauty salons, and many other perfectly normal things, the Taliban are now banning the internet. With this, the Afghan regime is taking another major step in making their country unliveable. Especially for women and girls, but also for men and boys.

Since last week, fiber optic internet has been banned in ten of the country's 34 provinces. Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada wants to prevent Afghans from viewing pornography, exchanging romantic messages, or doing other things he finds objectionable. Later, he also banned the use of books by female authors in universities, as well as education on human rights and sexual violence.

Meanwhile, mobile internet connections are also sputtering in some places, and a further official extension of the internet ban is still pending. This has been the trend since the Taliban retook power in their country from the democratically elected government and the international military in 2021: less and less is permitted, never more. By reinstating flogging, stoning, and other corporal punishments , the Taliban are effectively enforcing compliance with these decrees.

The internet ban is depriving teenage girls of their last remaining access to education. Now that their schools are closed, many are receiving online education from home, but even there, the risk of moral decay is apparently too high. What remains is a life of cooking, washing, and becoming a mother at a very young age.

This has truly sparked international outrage. The International Criminal Court has even issued an arrest warrant for Akhundzada, for crimes against humanity. But as the doors in Afghanistan continue to close, many states are, as time passes, opportunistically seeking rapprochement with the regime in Kabul.

This summer, Russia became the first country to recognize the Taliban as official rulers, primarily to establish trade relations. Neighboring China has not yet taken that step, but it does have an ambassador in Kabul, as does the United Arab Emirates.

Last week, US President Trump, with his characteristically uncouth approach, reached out to the Taliban. He wants the United States to regain access to the Bagram military base near Kabul—this time not to fight the Taliban, but to keep an eye on China—and believes some kind of transaction should be possible. He didn't mention the fate of the Afghans.

European states are also cautiously forging closer ties. For example, the Afghan embassy in Oslo has been allowed to resume consular services. And German officials in Kabul and Qatar are talking with the Taliban about returning rejected Afghan asylum seekers. This may help achieve a domestic goal, but it also gives the Taliban what they desperately desire: increasing international recognition.

For Akhundzada and his ministers, this normalization may not be happening fast enough, but the situation is certainly moving in their favor. They are letting time take its course, at the expense of the Afghan people. This should not be rewarded.