Govt responds as ‘ban’ on women journalists at Afghanistan minister’s press meet sparks outrage

The alleged exclusion of women journalists from a press conference by Afghanistan's Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in New Delhi has sparked outrage, with the opposition Congress demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarify his position.

 

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra termed the incident as an “insult” to “some of India’s most competent women”.

 

"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 wrote on X.

 

"If your recognition of women's rights isn't just convenient posturing from one election to the other, 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," she said.

 

The government, meanwhile, clarified that it had no role in the event addressed by the Afghanistan minister.

 

“The Ministry of External Affairs had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by the Afghan foreign minister in Delhi,” official sources said. They also pointed out that the Afghan Embassy territory does not come under the jurisdiction of the Indian government.

 

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram said the male journalists should have boycotted the press meet when they found out that women were not allowed to attend the event. 

 

"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)," he said.

 

The controversy erupted after women journalists were allegedly barred from Muttaqi’s press meet at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, hours after he held wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

 

Muttaqi is part of the Taliban government, known for its anti-women stance. Since assuming power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed several restrictions on women in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

 

India