'Resisting the Taliban does not mean that I want war'

Arpan Rai sits down with Manizha Bakhtari, Afghanistan’s only remaining female ambassador, to talk about her country’s oppressive regime and what it means to resist

- Arpan Rai

Manizha Bakhtari is on a mission. As the last serving female ambassador from Afghanistan anywhere in the world, she is at the forefront of efforts to deny the Islamist group the international recognition it badly craves.

The UN still refuses to recognise the legitimacy of the Taliban regime in Kabul, in place since Nato forces withdrew from the country and the last democratically elected government collapsed in August 2021. Individual countries are following the UN’s lead, but many now host Afghan diplomatic missions led by Taliban appointees, often out of practicality rather than ideology.

Austria, where Bakhtari leads the Afghan embassy, has held firm. And from there, Bakhtari is trying to spread the message across Europe that it would be a mistake to recognise or deal with a Taliban regime that fosters extremism and denies women many of the most fundamental rights.

Her story has started gaining attention, and is now the subject of an 80-minute documentary entitled The Last Ambassador that received a standing ovation at last month’s Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival. It follows her journey from being first appointed as envoy to Austria by the previous Ashraf Ghani-led administration to her present status as head of a mission disowned by Kabul. It also shows her activities running secret classes for Afghan girls banned by the Taliban from attending school.

In an interview with The Independent at a conference on Afghanistan’s future hosted by Madrid earlier this year, Bakhtari explains what resistance means for her.