Crystal Bayat

Crystal Bayat is an Afghan social activist and human rights advocate known for her protests against the Taliban takeover. A native Ghazni, Shia and Bayat ethnicity minority, Bayat grew up most of her life with democracy and positive societal changes. She is currently continuing the fight to preserve Afghan human right's achievements as an agent of change.[1]

Crystal Bayat
Crystal Bayat giving interview objecting to the flaws in the Doha Peace Agreement (2020)
Born (1997-01-16) 16 January 1997
Kabul, Afghanistan
Alma materDelhi University
OccupationSocial activist and humanitarian for Afghan women, education and minorities and champion for equal justice for all Afghan citizens.

Early life

Bayat was born in Kabul and is a member of the Bayat tribe, a Turkic ethnic minority.[2] Her mother is a gynaecologist (currently unable to work due to Taliban takeover) and her father worked for the Ministry of Interior Affairs.[3]

Social activist contributions

After returning from school in India to Afghanistan in 2020, Bayat started the civil rights political think tank, Justice and Equality Trend, and the Crystal Bayat Foundation, a human rights charity focused on helping Afghani people at risk.[2] She is active in protesting against the Taliban and warns that they "have not changed."

Bayat helped lead Kabul’s Independence Day protests just days after the Taliban took the city in August 2021. One of seven women at a protest of roughly 200 people, she led the pack, shouting, “Our flag is our identity!”[4] Bayat remains firm in her opinion that the Taliban still does not believe in the freedom and demands of Afghan citizens especially women, and that no one has made a honest effort to hold them accountable."[5]

She continues to speak out to the media and at public and private events about the current geopolitical situation in Afghanistan, while also helping friends, family and academic and professional colleagues achieve a collective voice against today's inhumane governance by the Taliban.

She writes on the plight of Afghan women and education and about Afghan minority challenges for national and international newspapers. Bayat edited a news and current affairs column in the telematic periodical Aleph & other Tales entitled, "The girl with the Afghan flag.".

Education

Bayat graduated from Daulat Ram College with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2019.[6] She holds a master's degree from the United Nations Institute in Delhi.[3] In 2021, Bayat started her PhD at Delhi University in Political Management but her program was cut short due to the Taliban takeover. Bayat was awarded a scholarship from Indian Council for Cultural Relations.[2]

Bayat has been accepted into the Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College Masters of Public Policy program; her plans are to start the MPP as a fulltime student in the fall of 2023.

Awards and recognitions

On December 7, 2021, Crystal Bayat was named to the BBC 100 Women 2021[7] list for her social activist and human-rights advocacy, which figured prominently in protests against the Taliban takeover in 2021.

In 2020, Bayat received the Rumi Award (2nd place) in the “Literature Category” and was also named as one of 50 Influential Women by Rumi Award organizers. She was also recognized by the former Afghan president and parliament in early 2020 for activism in passing the minority rights bill.

References
  1. Shali, Pooja (August 20, 2021). "Afghanistan and its people have changed, so should Taliban: Afghan activist seen in viral protest pics". India Today. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  2. Vincent, Pheroze L. (26 August 2021). "Face of anti-Taliban resistance cut her teeth in activism at DU". Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  3. Tripathi, Sumedha (2021-08-24). "A 24-Year-Old DU Graduate Is Leading The Way For Women Rights By Protesting Against Taliban". IndiaTimes. Archived from the original on 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  4. Bryon, Jordan; Cott, Emma; Laffin, Ben (2021-08-20). "Risking retaliation, an Afghan woman uses the national flag to protest the Taliban". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  5. Bhandari, Hemani (2021-08-24). "DU graduate who led protests in Afghanistan uncertain of future". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  6. Sadhwani, Garima (2021-08-27). "Survival in Afghanistan is really difficult: Afghan social activist Crystal Bayat". National Herald. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  7. "BBC 100 Women 2021: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-07.


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