On the occasion of International Women's Day, the ACF London in partnership with End Gender Apartheid Campaign and Mosaic Global Foundation is honoured to present a screening of the remarkable documentary The Last Ambassador, followed by a panel discussion centred around women's & girls' rights in Afghanistan and beyond.
The Last Ambassador is a poignant and powerful story following Afghanistan’s female ambassador in Vienna as she faces a life-altering decision in the wake of the Taliban’s return to power. Refusing to represent an oppressive regime, she bravely confronts the very forces that tore her country apart. Through her defiance, Ambassador Manizha Bakhtari becomes a voice for Afghan women and girls whose rights have been taken away. Through her ‘Daughters’ programme, she enables secret education to Afghan schoolgirls while organising political resistance against the Taliban. Under increasingly difficult conditions, she becomes one of the most important international spokespersons for the women of Afghanistan, true to her motto ‘peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of justice’.
Austria, 2025, 82min, directed by Natalie Halla
Following the screening we are delighted to host a panel discussion centred around women's & girls' rights in Afghanistan and beyond.
Speakers:
Manizha Bakhtari is a diplomat, lecturer and author whose career spans diplomacy, literature and advocacy. She currently serves as Afghanistan's Ambassador in Vienna and Permanent Representative to the UN and international organisations in Vienna, representing her country at institutions such as the UNODC, IAEA, CTBTP and OSCE.
Joanna Lewis is the Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics (LSE). She is also Associate Professor in the Department of International History at LSE. She is a historian of Britain in Africa, and Africa in Britain, covering the precolonial to contemporary eras.
Natalie Halla is an Austrian documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on human rights and social issues. Since 2010, she has worked as producer, scriptwriter and director of ten award-winning feature-length documentaries. Her latest film, The Last Ambassador, portrays Ambassador Manizha Bakhtari in her fight for Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule.
The panel will be moderated by Dr Marissa Quie who is an expert in Migration, Peace and Conflict Studies. She is Fellow & Director of Studies HSPS at Lucy Cavendish and College Lecturer in Politics. She was previously a Research Fellow at Queens' College Cambridge and Samuel Reichmann Fellow at Gonville and Caius College Cambridge.
