Finding Alternatives: Entrepreneurship and resilience by Afghan women online

As the Taliban continue to erode women’s rights, many Afghan women have turned to Instagram as a lifeline for community, self-expression and business – while navigating increasing restrictions and abuse.

Below is a summary of our findings. Scroll to the bottom of the page to download the full investigation (PDF file).

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban de facto authorities have imposed severe restrictions on the human rights of women and girls. An intricate web of policies, edicts and laws have affected all aspects of women’s lives, amounting to a deliberate attempt to erase women and girls from public spaces, as documented by Afghan Witness and other credible actors.

Despite the crackdown, Afghan women have shown remarkable resilience. As the Taliban have harshly repressed protests in public spaces, women have increasingly relied on social media to make their voices heard. Women activists both inside Afghanistan and among the diaspora have used platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to voice opposition to the Taliban, including by arranging indoor protests.

Afghan women are, however, also turning to social media for non-political reasons. Instagram, in particular, appears to have grown in popularity with Afghan women since 2021, as it is seen as a relatively safe space with less abusive content or risk of Taliban reprisals. It has become a platform for women and girls to express themselves, share and create content about their daily lives, and to earn a living as influencers or owners of online businesses.

This report by Afghan Witness examines the presence and activities of Afghan women and girls on Instagram, and the challenges they face under Taliban rule. It is based on an analysis of 100 public accounts belonging to Afghan women using OSINT tools. In addition, AW interviewed 10 women with public Instagram accounts as well as two women working in beauty salons, who have used Instagram since the Taliban closed down their businesses in 2023 and forced them underground.

Women reported having turned to Instagram largely due to restrictive policies by the Taliban, in particular the lack of access to education and work opportunities. Out of the 100 accounts analysed by AW, 86 had been created after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 – an indication of the platform’s growing popularity among women. The accounts were engaged in a range of mostly non-political activities, including promoting their online businesses, sharing vlogs from their lives, or producing other work- or Afghanistan-related content.

Afghan women on Instagram, however, face a hugely challenging environment. Women said they feared for their safety due to their online activities, whether due to Taliban reprisals or other misogynistic attacks. This has led to self-censorship, a reluctance to go outside, and efforts to conceal their identities when they do have to leave their homes, even if they do not show their faces in Instagram posts.

Some women described having already faced reprisals for their online activities. One woman had her camera confiscated by a Taliban official while taking pictures outside, while another had been directly threatened due to her acting and modelling work. An AW analysis also showed that Afghan women face abusive messages on Instagram – including sexualised and gendered abuse – although not to the same extent as on other platforms, notably on X.

The recently published (August 2024) Law on the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue has heightened fears about Taliban reprisals against online content creators or business owners. The Law bans footage of living beings on various platforms, while reinforcing and widening other restrictions on women’s rights, including a ban on revealing their faces or interaction between genders.

Taliban restrictions have also created severe operational challenges for women who run online businesses through Instagram. Movement restrictions, including the mahram (male chaperone) requirement, means that women must rely on male family members to handle shipping of products and other logistical tasks. One business owner said that Taliban officials had forcibly closed her workshop, where she employed at least 30 women. Another woman, who owns a beauty salon that operates underground, said she had to pay regular bribes to Taliban officials.

AW urges donors, technology companies and other international actors to provide support to Afghan women using Instagram and other social media platforms. This should include resources for dedicated trainings in both digital security and online entrepreneurship, improved content moderation efforts to counter abuse, and pressure on the Taliban de facto authorities to remove barriers for women business owners.