NEW DELHI: A press conference by Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on Friday drew attention not for what was said, but for who wasn’t in the room. Women journalists were not allowed to attend the event, which was restricted to a handful of male reporters.
The interaction, held at the Afghan Embassy just hours after Muttaqi’s talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar , appeared to mirror the gender restrictions long criticised under the Taliban regime .
According to people familiar with the matter, the decision on which journalists would be invited was made by Taliban officials accompanying Muttaqi.
The Indian side, news agency PTI reported, had suggested that women reporters should also be included among the invitees, a recommendation that was evidently not accepted.
Former Union home minister P Chidambaram expressed shock over the incident, saying "men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded".
"I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan In my personal view, the men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited)," Chidambaram wrote on X.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position on the issue and said his "recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other".
"Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, please clarify your position on the removal of female journalists from the press conference of the representative of the Taliban on his visit to India. If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other, then how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country, a country whose women are its backbone and its pride," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote on X.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra said: "Govt has dishonoured every single Indian woman by allowing Taliban minister to exclude women journalists from presser. Shameful bunch of spineless hypocrites."
The Taliban government in Kabul has faced sustained global condemnation, including from the United Nations , for its curbs on women’s rights, education, and participation in public life.
Amid the backlash, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified to news agency ANI that India had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by Muttaqi.
When asked about the condition of women in Afghanistan, Muttaqi sidestepped the question. Instead, he maintained that each country had its own systems and values that should be respected.
“Every country has its own customs, laws and principles, and there should be respect for them,” he said.
Muttaqi claimed that Afghanistan’s situation had improved since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, contrasting current conditions with the years before.
“Some 200 to 400 people died in Afghanistan every day before Taliban started ruling the country,” he said.
“In these four years, there have been no such losses. Laws are in force and every one has their rights. Those who are engaging in propaganda are making a mistake,” Muttaqi claimed.
Defending his government’s record, he added: "Every country has its own customs, laws and principles, and works according to those. It is not correct that people are not given their rights. If people were not happy with the system and the laws, why has peace returned?"
Even as Muttaqi painted a picture of stability, the absence of women journalists at his own press conference put in light the very issue that continues to define Afghanistan’s global image, a peace built without the voices of half its population.
The interaction, held at the Afghan Embassy just hours after Muttaqi’s talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar , appeared to mirror the gender restrictions long criticised under the Taliban regime .
According to people familiar with the matter, the decision on which journalists would be invited was made by Taliban officials accompanying Muttaqi.
The Indian side, news agency PTI reported, had suggested that women reporters should also be included among the invitees, a recommendation that was evidently not accepted.
Former Union home minister P Chidambaram expressed shock over the incident, saying "men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded".
"I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan In my personal view, the men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited)," Chidambaram wrote on X.
I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 11, 2025
In my personal view, the men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited)
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position on the issue and said his "recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other".
"Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, please clarify your position on the removal of female journalists from the press conference of the representative of the Taliban on his visit to India. If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other, then how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country, a country whose women are its backbone and its pride," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote on X.
Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, please clarify your position on the removal of female journalists from the press conference of the representative of the Taliban on his visit to India.
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) October 11, 2025
If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to…
TMC MP Mahua Moitra said: "Govt has dishonoured every single Indian woman by allowing Taliban minister to exclude women journalists from presser. Shameful bunch of spineless hypocrites."
Govt has dishonoured every single Indian woman by allowing Taliban minister to exclude women journalists from presser. Shameful bunch of spineless hypocrites. pic.twitter.com/xxnqofS6ob
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 10, 2025
The Taliban government in Kabul has faced sustained global condemnation, including from the United Nations , for its curbs on women’s rights, education, and participation in public life.
Amid the backlash, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified to news agency ANI that India had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by Muttaqi.
When asked about the condition of women in Afghanistan, Muttaqi sidestepped the question. Instead, he maintained that each country had its own systems and values that should be respected.
“Every country has its own customs, laws and principles, and there should be respect for them,” he said.
Muttaqi claimed that Afghanistan’s situation had improved since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, contrasting current conditions with the years before.
“Some 200 to 400 people died in Afghanistan every day before Taliban started ruling the country,” he said.
“In these four years, there have been no such losses. Laws are in force and every one has their rights. Those who are engaging in propaganda are making a mistake,” Muttaqi claimed.
Defending his government’s record, he added: "Every country has its own customs, laws and principles, and works according to those. It is not correct that people are not given their rights. If people were not happy with the system and the laws, why has peace returned?"
Even as Muttaqi painted a picture of stability, the absence of women journalists at his own press conference put in light the very issue that continues to define Afghanistan’s global image, a peace built without the voices of half its population.
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