Several Indian journalists on Friday, October 10, criticised the exclusion of women reporters from a press conference held in New Delhi by Taliban-controlled Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Many described the move as “unacceptable” and questioned how it was permitted on Indian soil.
The Taliban has long faced international condemnation for its harsh restrictions on women and minorities. Since returning to power in August 2021, the regime has barred girls from attending school beyond class six, banned women from most jobs and public spaces, and ordered NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women.
Muttaqi, who arrived in India earlier in the day, met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar – the highest-level contact between India and the Taliban since the group seized power in 2021. Later that evening, he addressed the media at the Afghanistan embassy in Delhi.
Journalists pointed out on social media that women were not invited to the event. Images posted by Hafiz Zia Ahmad, director of public communication at Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, also indicated that it was an all-male press gathering.
Independent journalist Smita Sharma noted that no women journalists were invited to Muttaqi’s press conference and criticised Jaishankar for not mentioning “the horrible plight of Afghan girls and women under the Taliban regime”.
Suhasini Haidar, the diplomatic affairs editor at The Hindu, said that Muttaqi was allowed to “bring their abhorrent and illegal discrimination against women to India, as the government hosts the Taliban delegation with full official protocol”.
“Right under the Indian government's nose, in the heart of the capital city, the Afghan Foreign Minister Muttaqi holds a press conference, intentionally excluding any female journalists. How can this be allowed? Who approved such an outrageous disregard for representation?” asked author and journalist Nayanima Basu in a post.
During his meeting with Muttaqi earlier on Friday, Jaishankar announced that India would reopen its embassy in Kabul after nearly four years, calling the visit an important step in advancing bilateral ties. While New Delhi has not formally recognised the Taliban regime, it has allowed the group to appoint a consul general in Mumbai.
The visit and the official response are among the latest signs that India has been stepping its engagement with the regime in Afghanistan to deny Pakistan and China strategic advantage.
“India is fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan,” said Jaishankar in his opening remarks. “Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilience,” he said.