Afghan woman envoy defies Taliban government

The Taliban government asked her to leave.

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But for more than four years, Manizha Bakhtari has defied the leadership in Kabul and remains accredited by Vienna as Afghanistan's ambassador to Austria.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban authorities have sought to replace Bakhtari with one of their own diplomats, because she was appointed by the former government.

When Bakhtari, like many of her colleagues, received a letter from Taliban officials relieving her of her diplomatic duties, she simply ignored it.

“That was just a piece of paper for me,” she told AFP in an interview at the embassy’s downsized premises, after relocating from central Vienna with the help of the Afghan diaspora.