The Last Ambassador – Panel Discussion & Film Screening

December 11 | 6:30 PM | This program is co-hosted by the End Gender Apartheid Campaign, the Malala Fund, and Amnesty International.

TICKETS AVAILABLE IN DUE COURSE

This event will feature a panel discussion about the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and a screening of The Last Ambassador by Austrian director Natalie Halla. The documentary follows the journey of Manizha Bakhtari, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Austria and as Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Vienna, in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. The last remaining female Ambassador of Afghanistan, Ambassador Bakhtari, continues her fight for the people of Afghanistan, in solidarity with Afghan women and girls and in defiance of the Taliban’s deepening gender apartheid regime.

About the Evening

6 PM: Doors open

6.30 PM: Event begins

• Introductory remarks by H.E. Naseer Faiq, Chargé d’affaires and interim of the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations in New York
  Panel discussion with:
  • H.E. Manizha Bakthari, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Austria and as Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Vienna
  • Metra Mehran, Policy Advisor, End Gender Apartheid Campaign
  • Natalie Halla, Director of The Last Ambassador

Moderated by: Joyce Bukuru, Senior Advocate and Representative of Amnesty International to the United Nations

• Screening of The Last Ambassador (59 min.)
• Reception to follow.

Four years since seizing control of Afghanistan, the Taliban has instituted a draconian regime of systematic gender-based oppression and domination – what a growing number of Afghan women’s rights defenders, UN experts, Member States, and international jurists have identified as “gender apartheid.” Through the wholesale removal of protective safeguards, an onslaught of repressive decrees and edicts, and punitive enforcement measures, the Taliban has sought to systematically erase women and girls from public life and relegate them to child bearers, child rearers, and free domestic labor. Despite this worsening human rights crisis, much of the world watches in alarming silence, with some states making steps towards normalizing relations with the Taliban. As the women and girls of Afghanistan have been courageously leading the charge to stand up against abuses committed against them, it is critical that the international community commit to women’s political participation.

Manizha Bakthari (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan)

Manizha Bakhtari is a diplomat, lecturer, and author whose career spans diplomacy, literature, and advocacy. She currently serves as Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the UN and international organizations in Vienna, representing her country at institutions such as the UNODC, IAEA, CTBTO, and OSCE. With academic roots in journalism and literature, she has long championed education, dialogue, and the rights of Afghan women and girls. She holds degrees from Kabul University, where she later taught journalism, and co-founded the Parnian Publication Center to support Afghan writers and free expression.
The author of eight books on media, ethics, and literature, her work explores identity, exile, and the interplay of media and power. She began her diplomatic career in 2007 and later served as Ambassador to the Nordic Countries. Since 2021, she has represented democratic Afghanistan abroad, advocating for human rights after the Taliban takeover. In 2024, she received the OSCE White Ribbon Award. She is also a founding member of the Dukhtaran Program supporting Afghan girls’ education.

Natalie Halla (Director of The Last Ambassador)

Natalie Halla was born on November 18th 1975 in Linz (Austria) as the granddaughter of two well-known Austrian painters. At the age of 16 she spent one year with a Russian host family in Moscow witnessing the collapse of the Soviet Union. She studied law and translation (Russian, Spanish) at Karl-Franzens University of Graz, spent one semester with the ERASMUS program in Spain and wrote her thesis in law at the Jerusalem University on “Implementation of Human Rights on the Example of Freedom of Religion in Israel”, for which she got an award for excellency. At the age of 22 she became an intern of the United Nations Drug Control Program in Peru. After several years of further studies and working in France and Spain, she concentrated on documentary film direction and production. Since 2010 she has worked as producer, script writer and director of ten award winning feature length documentaries, mainly focused on human rights and social issues. Image: Amina Stella

Naseer Ahmad Faiq (Chargé d’Affaires, Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN, New York)

Naseer Ahmad Faiq has served as Chargé d’Affaires of Afghanistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations since December 16, 2021, becoming the sole recognized representative of Afghanistan at the UN following the Taliban’s takeover. In this role, he works to preserve Afghanistan’s voice in the international community and advocates for the restoration of fundamental rights—especially for women, girls, and minorities—as well as for an inclusive, accountable, and legitimate government grounded in justice and the rule of law.
Mr. Faiq joined the Mission in 2019 as Minister Counsellor, overseeing political affairs and UN Security Council matters. With nearly twenty years of diplomatic experience, he is widely respected for his professionalism, independence, and commitment to human rights. He began his diplomatic career in 2005 at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served in multiple senior roles, including Acting Chief of Staff, Deputy Director General for Regional Cooperation, and diplomat at Afghanistan’s UN Mission during three postings.
He holds degrees from Kabul University and Fairleigh Dickinson University and is married with two children.