“Joy has become a form of rebellion, and survival an act of resistance for women in Afghanistan today”, observed photojournalist Kiana Hayeri in her compelling talk “How Freedom Survives in Afghanistan”, on the opening day of the Xposure International Photography Festival (Xposure 2026), in Sharjah. The award-winning Iranian-Canadian photojournalist known for documenting migration, identity, and life in conflict zones took the audience on a visual journey through the conflict occurring in the Asian nation.

Kiana shared visuals of young girls and older women carving out small moments of joy, dignity, and resistance, celebrating birthdays, sewing uniforms, learning from textbooks – from the confines of their homes. Living in Afghanistan for almost a decade when the nation was partly under the Taliban regime, she was able to capture and document the human impact of war on more than 100 adolescent girls and women, with the help of women’s rights researcher Melissa Cornett.

Through intimate photographs and field insight, she illustrated Afghanistan’s transition from a time when women could choose their own husbands to the present where early marriages and malnutrition make lives difficult for many. Wazhmah and her daughter Tahmeena who had to give up higher education in 1998 and 2022 respectively, sisters Razia and Zahra who survived an attack on their school are among the many women who dare to dream despite the lost opportunities of the present. Underground beauty salons, hidden classrooms and continued broadcasting were a testament of their resilience and hope, Kiana illustrated through her photographs.

“These small acts are not just moments of joy. They are a declaration that women will not disappear in a world that has turned its back on them,” Kiana concluded as she vowed to continue to fight for them.

Organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), the 10th edition of Xposure runs from January 29 to February 4 under the theme “A Decade of Visual Storytelling”, with Athens as Guest of Honour. The festival brings together more than 420 photographers, filmmakers, and visual artists from over 60 countries, presenting 95 exhibitions, 3,200 artworks, and more than 570 visual events across photography, filmmaking, and visual culture.