Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, raising the national flag instead of the white Taliban flag has become an act of resistance.

We filmed with Crystal Bayat, an activist who helped lead Kabul’s Independence Day protests just days after the Taliban took the city. One of seven women at a protest of roughly 200 people, she led the pack, shouting, “Our flag is our identity!”

Bayat has been a vocal critic of the Taliban, and despite threats against her, did not want The New York Times to conceal her identity. She says she continues to speak out on behalf of Afghan women who are too scared to leave their homes.

New York Times News Service