Fahima Noori had big dreams when she graduated from university in Afghanistan.
She had studied law, graduated from a midwifery programme and even worked in a mental health clinic.
But all that was taken away when the Taliban swept into power in 2021. They banned girls over the age of 12 from getting an education, severely restricted job options for women and recently removed books written by women from universities.
For Fahima, the internet was her last lifeline to the outside world.
I recently enrolled in an online university and had hoped to finish my studies and find an online job, she said.
On Tuesday, that lifeline was cut off when the Taliban imposed a nationwide internet shutdown that is set to last indefinitely.
Our last hope was online learning. Now, even that dream has been destroyed, said Fahima.
Over the past few weeks, the Taliban government began severing fibre-optic internet connections across several provinces, saying this was part of an effort to prevent immorality.
For many, they feared this might be the first step towards an entire internet shutdown.
And on Tuesday, their worst fears came true. The country is currently experiencing a total internet blackout according to internet watchdog Netblocks - a move that has paralysed the country's essential services.
International news agencies say they have lost contact with offices in the capital Kabul. Mobile internet and satellite TV has also been severely disrupted across Afghanistan. Flights from Kabul airport have also been disrupted, according to local media reports.
Ahead of the nationwide shutdown, the BBC spoke to some people in Afghanistan who detailed how the internet outages in their provinces had derailed their lives.
Before this, I studied midwifery, but unfortunately that programme was banned for women... the only hope left for us was the internet and online learning, said Shakiba, who lives in the northern province of Takhar.
We want to study. We want to be educated. We want to be able to help people in our future. When I heard that the internet had been cut, the world felt dark to me.
It's a similar tale for Fahima, who says she now feels helpless.
My two sisters and I were studying online. We used to stay updated on news and technology through the internet, but now we cannot keep up or learn new skills, said the student, who lives in an eastern province of Afghanistan.
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed numerous restrictions in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
Earlier this month they removed books written by women from the country's university teaching system as part of a new ban which has also outlawed the teaching of human rights and sexual harassment.
The Taliban government has said it respects women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Afghan culture and Islamic law.
But it's not just female students that have been affected - teachers like Zabi, who used to make a living through online teaching, have been similarly hit by the ban.
He add that there is no IELTS centre in Afghanistan, so the only option for students is to take one online.
The Taliban have yet to give an official reason for the shutdown. They had earlier said an alternative route for internet access would be created but did not give any more details.
