Manizha Bakhtari is an Afghanistan novelist, short story writer, literary scholar, journalist, and diplomat whose work has contributed significantly to contemporary Afghanistan’s literature and journalism. Born into a distinguished literary family, she developed a deep appreciation for Persian literature and the power of storytelling from an early age. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Persian Language and Literature.
Before joining Afghanistan’s diplomatic service, Bakhtari taught at the Faculty of Journalism at Kabul University from 2003 to 2009, where she combined teaching with research in journalism, literature, media ethics, and culture. Her academic publications, including The Fascinating World of News, Ethics and Law in Journalism, Literary Journalism, The Honey of Satire and the Poison of Mockery, and Ninety-Three Years of Media and Law, have become valuable references in the field of Afghanistan media studies.
As a fiction writer, Bakhtari is recognized as one of the notable voices of contemporary Afghanistan literature. Her first short story collection, Three Fairies, includes a story that has been translated into English and Danish. She is the author of three novels—The Four Daughters of Zoroaster, Sweet Ashes, and A Daf for Golsa—as well as Unprescribed Signatures, a collection of essays on Afghanistan fiction.
Her literary works explore themes of identity, memory, human dignity, women’s experiences, and the social transformations of Afghanistan. Through both academic research and creative writing, Bakhtari uses literature as a means of preserving cultural memory and giving voice to the complexities of Afghanistan society. Although her diplomatic career has taken her beyond academia, she continues to write.
