Jennifer Lawrence and Malala Yousafzai’s New Doc About Women in Afghanistan Is a ‘Form of Resistance’ (Exclusive)

Jennifer Lawrence and Malala Yousafzai may seem an unlikely filmmaking duo, but the Academy Award winner and Pakistani education activist came together to produce an important new documentary. It shines a light on the lives of women in Afghanistan in the months after the Taliban retook control of the country in 2021.

With the new film Bread and Roses streaming now on Apple TV+, Lawrence, 34, and Yousafzai, 27, turned the camera over to Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani to collect footage of women Mani knew in Afghanistan in the months after the U.S. military withdrew from the country in August 2021. The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan and toppled its government almost immediately following the U.S.' withdrawal, re-establishing a regime that severely restricts women's rights under a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

"Jennifer's role is so important because we need to share solidarity with Afghan women, globally. And it's a message that women all around the world are standing united with Afghan women and girls in their fight against the Taliban's oppression," Yousafzai tells PEOPLE of the need for high-profile Americans to participate in spreading awareness.

"And at the same time, I think this documentary coming from [filmmaker Mani] is very, very crucial because the Taliban are trying to silence Afghan women," Yousafzai continues. She herself was violently targeted by the Taliban for speaking out in favor of women's education at age 15.

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"They're trying to erase them from public life. They're trying to take away all of their rights from them. I believe that giving the camera to an Afghan woman to record herself and tell her story is a form of resistance," Yousafzai adds. "And I believe that spreading their story as widely as we can, can help us amplify the voices of Afghan women to defeat those of the Taliban."

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Bread and Roses follows the experiences of three women in the months following the fall of Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul: Zahra, a dentist whom the Taliban attempt to force to close her practice; Taranom, an activist who hides out in a town close to Afghanistan's border with Pakistan; and former government employee Sharifa, who is forced to remain home with her family. For Lawrence, getting the movie made was imperative to counteract the fear that "people would move on and forget what's happening to the people of Afghanistan, which is, of course, exactly what the Taliban wants."

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"It's such a huge honor that Malala came onto this," Lawrence tells PEOPLE. "I've been watching her advocacy work for years, and I read her book, and [I'm] and just a huge fan. She's the perfect person to bring the right type of attention and the right type of conversation to this movie."

Yousafzai adds that she believes "the best form of resistance against the Taliban is to give visibility to Afghan women" as the oppressive regime continues to exert control over Afghanistan. "I hope that this documentary actually helps us start a conversation and really think about how we can push our leaders to do more to hold the Taliban accountable and ensure that things change for Afghan women very soon."

Bread and Roses is now streaming on Apple TV+.