Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States Adela Raz said during an exclusive interview with "Axios on HBO" that President Joe Biden Doesn't care about women or girls under the Taliban rule.
Axios highlighted that Raz' interview was her first public appearance since her country has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and that she felt betrayed by what has happened. The outlet also underscored Raz' loss of faith with the Biden Administration who refused to meet with her.
"Raz said, bluntly, she doesn't think President Biden cares about the fate of Afghan women and girls," Axios said giving a big picture on the interview.
Accordingly, Raz revealed her despair after losing her country and "her life's work of liberating women and girls in shambles." She shared that she actually felt guilty because she encouraged Afghan women to engage with her in serving the government for their new future. This is besides encouraging them to stay in Afghanistan.
Raz, who continues to report in the Afghanistan embassy located in Washington, D.C., was emotional in several parts of her interview. One such instance was when she cited a young woman who advocated human rights that got assassinated in Afghanistan.
Another instance was when she looked at the tricolor flag of Afghanistan displayed out of her office window, which she refused to remove and replace with the white Taliban flag. This was Raz' refusal of the Taliban takeover of her country's government and similar refusal to abandon the embassy.
"She refuses to recognize the Taliban or leave her post--and said she still considers herself her country's ambassador--but the Biden administration has declined to meet with her," the report said.
Raz disclosed that she kept the embassy open through a skeleton staff and explained her country's flag is the only thing that reminded her of who she is.
"That's how I know I'm Afghan," Raz said.
More than anything, the importance of displaying the Afghanistan flag for Raz meant "she no longer trusts the U.S. government and doubts any Afghan will trust U.S. policies for a long time."
"If you talk about democracy--I probably will question it and laugh at it. You were engaged in building one in Afghanistan, and the people believed in it," Raz remarked in line with America being the free world leader.
During the interview, Raz also criticized Biden for refusing to renegotiate with the Taliban in line with the deal made by former President Donald Trump. She pointed out that not doing so left women in Afghanistan vulnerable for they no longer had protections as before.
Raz met with members of Congress last August regarding the "urgent security situation in Afghanistan and the extreme level of violence" there. The Afghan Embassy in the United States disclosed in Twitter that the meeting ended with members agreeing to take "urgent actions" and a "commitment to peace and political solution."
"All members agreed that urgent actions need to be taken to protect civilians' lives & major cities including #Kabul," the embassy announced.
"They stressed the need to provide extended close air support & necessary equipment to #Afg security forces. They called for intense political pressure on the Taliban, an immediate stop to the slaughter, and a demonstration of commitment to peace & a political solution," they added.
Reacting to the interview of Daz, evangelist Franklin Graham commended the Afghan ambassador for her boldness and agreed "with her deep concerns for the people of her country." Graham highlighted portions of the interview particularly the "fate of Afghan women and girls" who are "left behind to fend for themselves under the brutal Taliban rule after America's rapid military withdrawal."
