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Kabul.
Ever since the Taliban took power here in mid-August, the radical Islamic terrorist group has shaped everyday life in the Afghan capital.
This affects women in particular.
They are not only suffering from the collapsing economy, which has plunged large sections of the population into poverty.
The new rulers are gradually taking away the rights that had been granted to them under the old government since 2004.
She doesn't want to accept that: Laila Haidari is one of the best-known human rights activists in Afghanistan and runs a learning center - hidden from the eyes of the Taliban.
Laila Haidari, activist:
“The women here all suffer from poverty. They cannot go to school or study, they have no opportunities. They are here to earn money for their families.«
In this workshop, young women learn how to sew clothes and make jewelry.
A matter of the heart for Laila Haidari.
Before the Taliban invaded Kabul, she ran a drug clinic and ran a popular restaurant in Kabul.
The new rulers closed both and took away their duties from the 44-year-old.
But she continues to fight for the women in the country.
Laila Haidari, activist:
»Strong women have a very hard time in Afghanistan. I can not sleep at night. Then I lie awake, smoke and think about how I can help the women of Afghanistan. I could easily leave the country, I have a visa. But there are many little Laila Haidaris here who need my help growing up.”
More and more young women are coming to learn and work with Laila.
The Taliban know nothing about it.
It's dangerous, but Laila doesn't want to stop.
The list of prohibitions for the nearly 20 million women in Afghanistan is long: they are hardly allowed to move around independently, only use public transport when accompanied by a male.
They are only allowed to work in a few areas.
The Taliban have banned them from politics and the judiciary.
At the beginning of May, the new rulers announced that women should only leave the house if necessary – and that they would have to cover their face and entire body under a burqa in public.
If their faces are still visible in public, their male relatives face a fine and even imprisonment.
The oppression by the Taliban begins in childhood: girls are now only allowed to attend primary school.
Laila Haidari therefore focuses on education.
Her closest collaborator, Mushkan Pashwak, teaches English.
The 21-year-old wants to give women and girls better career prospects.
Because those who earn money remain independent, says Mushkan - even under the Taliban.
The feeling of helping, for them it is a support in difficult times.
Mushkan Pashwak, teacher:
»At least I can help these girls because they have no other way of learning English. I speak English and I want them to learn the language too (...) This center is my only hope in this country.«
The Taliban are also present in Bamiyan, a province west of Kabul.
Many members of the Hazara, a Shiite minority, live here.
Twenty years ago, the Taliban destroyed the world-famous Buddha statues in the Bamiyan Valley and massacred the population.
Now the self-appointed holy warriors are back.
Zahra Kazimi was a successful textile entrepreneur before the Taliban took power.
Hundreds of women made clothes and bags for them in traditional Afghan designs.
These were sold abroad, and the women were able to feed their families with the proceeds.
When the Taliban came to Bamiyan, they threatened to kill Zahra Kazimi.
She fled to Kabul and is now constantly changing hiding places with her family.
The 38-year-old rarely visits her secret factory anymore.
Zahra Kazimi, Entrepreneur:
“I built my business to help women. Before the Taliban took power again, I employed 500 women. I was a successful business woman with many plans. Now all women are unemployed, which makes me sad. My children are no longer safe and I don't know how long I'll be alive.«
In Bamiyan, the poorest of the poor live in caves in the cliffs that line the valley.
Ferishta Ahmadi was also born here 22 years ago.
Nine of them live in this cave with their family.
Ferishta Ahmadi would have liked to go to college, but didn't have the means.
However, her dream of becoming a teacher came true.
Six years ago she founded a primary school for the children from the area in the cave next door.
She can at least teach them basic knowledge.
Ferishta Ahmadi, teacher:
»It was very difficult for me to go to school because we were very poor. That's why I wanted to be a teacher ever since I was little, to help such poor people.«
Around fifty students attend her unofficial school, says Ferishta Ahmadi.
Most are girls.
They are too poor to go into town for classes.
Today a group of girls came to the small classroom for religious instruction.
The Sunni Taliban dislike the Shia Hazara rites.
Education for girls also does not fit into their worldview.
Ferishta Ahmadi fears that she will soon have to close her school.
That would be a disaster for her students, she says.
Ferishta Ahmadi, teacher:
“I worry about the future of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban do not allow women to work, girls are not allowed to go to school or study. If this continues, the prospects for women in this country are bleak.«
Ferishta Ahmadi wants to continue as long as possible.
Like Laila Haidari and Zahra Kazimi, she knows that the fate of Afghanistan's girls and women must not be left to the Taliban.