Now we continue our exclusive series 'Through Their Eyes', with a rare look at life inside Afghanistan. Recently a female journalist and activist in the war-torn country was fatally shot. No one has claimed responsibility, though some suspect the Taliban is trying to silence women as peace talks plod along. And some women are fighting back. This is Episode 4 of our five-part series, and CGTN's Sean Callebs has more from Kabul. And just a warning, you may find some of the following footage disturbing.

As a woman who owns and operates a restaurant in Afghanistan, Laila Haidar will never be confused with a wilting flower. Head-strong, uncompromising and demanding she's trying to allow color to flourish in a drab and dangerous nation.

Years ago - with 200-dollars and a wealth of determination, Haidar opened a restaurant. It's a rarity in Afghanistan - a place where men and women can mingle together, drink tea and relax.

LAILA HAIDAR KABUL RESIDENT, ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNER "It was surprising for people to see a woman establishing a restaurant - but I had to do it - I needed a source of income to start my projects."

This is Haidar's main 'project', kilometers away from her restaurant.

LAILA HAIDAR KABUL RESIDENT, ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNER "Who will take care of you? Are you a user? Do you want to stop?"

Haidar wades into a world, where men are addicted to heroin - in a nation where the drug is cheap and easily found. She's emerged as a powerful and unlikely human rights hero to get them off drugs and into treatment.

SEAN CALLEBS KABUL, AFGHANISTAN "How difficult was it at first, for you a woman to approach drug users -did they reject you?"

LAILA HAIDAR KABUL RESIDENT, ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNER "I think addiction is kind of a treatable sickness, and you need to fight against it, and that is right. An addict won't get clear with a single shower - but eventually he can be cleaned and saved."

This is a rehab center Haidar started where doctors and counselors can help men such as Hussain Dad.

HUSSAIN DAD REHAB PATIENT "To be honest, I was tired of addiction and no friends or relatives to ask for help."

They bear the scars of the past - but now have a future. Thousands have received help here over the years. Haidar says the uniform and shaved head helps keep them from running away.

Despite a regimen of strict rules and demands - recovering addicts call her 'mother'. She says about one in five are able to stay off drugs.

"Is it going to be hard for you to stay clean the rest of your life?"

HUSSAIN DAD REHAB PATIENT "I think the problem lies with me. If I contact drug users again once I leave - I think I will get addicted again -- it's that simple."

She's one of the few women in Afghanistan who drives and often refuses to wear a headscarf.

LAILA HAIDAR KABUL RESIDENT, ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNER "I believe human rights are women's rights --- and I will fight for them."

Haidar also operates a halfway house for women. A safe haven for the abused -- and girls forced into the sex trade. Like this 16-year-old, Haidar recently freed. She was sold to drug dealers by her parents - to pay off their thousand dollar heroin debt.

LAILA HAIDAR KABUL RESIDENT, ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNER "I see small girls that are being sold. I know girls who have been forced into a lifestyle that would shock you, whose stories of distress are so terrible you couldn't stand it."

It's something she knows first-hand.

LAILA HAIDAR KABUL RESIDENT, ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNER "I was forced into a marriage with a mullah when I was just 12 years old. he was much older than me. I became a mother at 13 -and by the age of 18, I had three children."

She summoned the courage to leave her husband and went into hiding. Haidar emerged a different woman in a country still struggling. Afghanistan is negotiating a power-sharing structure with the Taliban in an effort to foster peace. It's a deal, Haidar wants no part of.

LAILA HAIDAR KABUL RESIDENT, ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNER "A new government that includes the Taliban -that is frightening to me. I think all of our efforts will be wiped out -and women will once again be relegated to the house and the kitchen."

Innocence lost. Haidar doesn't want to see another generation suffer. So she fights to bring beauty and meaning to Afghanistan. Even at her restaurant where these men working there are recovering addicts.

LAILA HAIDAR KABUL RESIDENT, ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGNER "I find happiness when someone returns to his or her normal life that is really what makes me wholeheartedly happy."

And to her - it's much better to celebrate the victories. Sean Callebs, CGTN, Kabul, Afghanistan.