In today’s world, where technology plays a central role in education and communication, access to the internet has become a basic necessity for many of us. For me, an internet shutdown is not just the loss of a signal—it’s the loss of connection with my loved ones, my friends, the world and education.

Especially for us Afghan girls, not having access to the internet is deeply challenging.  

For those of us who are banned from going to school, the internet is the classroom we’ve built inside our homes.  

The internet is the teacher who teaches us from around the world.  

The internet is the books we cannot find in any bookstore.  

The internet is the world we want to know and be a part of.

But even this right has been taken from us.

When the internet is cut off, it feels like everything stops.  

We fall behind in our lessons, we can’t take our exams, we no longer hear our teacher’s voice. Once again, we feel like we’ve been separated from the world. We don’t want much. We just want to learn. But when even that right is taken from us, only God knows what pain lives in our hearts.

We want peace.  

We want education.  

We want the right to breathe.

The internet was our gateway to all of these.

Are our wishes unfair or too much to ask?  

Are we demanding too much from this world, this country, or our society?

Why does no one think that our hearts can also break?  

That we too will one day get tired of fighting.

I hope a day will come when no Afghan girl is deprived of education because of her gender,  

and the internet will no longer be shut down, but instead become a bridge to a brighter future.