The Taliban want to sack me - the ambassador who won't quit

Available for over a year

In 2021 when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, Manizha Bakhtari the Afghan ambassador to Austria, thought it was inevitable that the Taliban would want her to leave. To her it was clear they would want her out of the job, not just because she was a woman but also because she championed the rights of women in Afghanistan. From bitter experience she knew she stood in complete opposition to Taliban ideology, despite this second wave of Taliban initially claiming to be different. Manizha remembered the first time they came to power in 1996, following several years of civil war, with fighting between militant Islamic groups, which in turn had followed 10 years of Soviet occupation. Back then she was a young mother, the daughter of intellectual couple, her father was a famous liberal poet who had already had to leave the country fearing for his life. The family fled to exile in Pakistan. She says at that point she had no power to resist the Taliban, but by the time of their return in 2021 she was an experienced diplomat with connections worldwide. She refused to resign, ignored the letters dismissing her when they finally came, and used her position to denounce the Taliban. Russia is the only UN member state to have recognised the Taliban as a legitimate government. However, Manizha is still recognised internationally as the legitimate Afghan ambassador to Austria. Though without any funding from Afghanistan, she no longer has the trappings of a diplomatic mission. She runs her office from a one-bedroom flat, has no diplomatic vehicles, but attends international meetings and is actively engaged in supporting clandestine initiatives to educate girls in Afghanistan in the face of a complete denial of education for women under the Taliban. Manizha is the subject of a new documentary called The Last Ambassador. (Photo: A mid-shot of Manizha with chestnut brown hair and dark framed spectacles standing behind a lectern, smiling. There is a microphone on a stand in front of her, and she’s wearing a dark green velvet jacket, with gold and green floral embroidery down the front, and a black scarf tied in a loose bow. She is standing in front of lush green foliage. Credit: Manizha Bakhtari) Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Eric Mugaju