Oppn, media decry ban on women journalists from Afghan FM presser

A major political storm erupted on Saturday, 11 October, after women journalists were barred from attending a press conference by visiting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, with opposition leaders and media bodies calling the incident “unacceptable” and an insult to women.

The Editors Guild of India (EGI) and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) condemned the exclusion, terming it “highly discriminatory” and unjustifiable even under diplomatic conventions.

“While diplomatic premises may claim protection under the Vienna Convention, that cannot justify blatant gender discrimination in press access on Indian soil,” the EGI said. The IWPC urged the government to ensure such gender-based exclusions “do not occur in the future”, calling the move contrary to India’s democratic ethos and constitutional values.

The controversy broke out after the Friday presser at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, attended only by a handful of male reporters. Muttaqi, who met external affairs minister S. Jaishankar earlier that day, was accompanied by Taliban officials who reportedly made the decision to exclude women journalists. Officials familiar with the matter said the Indian side had suggested including women reporters, but the proposal was not accepted.

Opposition leaders launched sharp attacks on the Modi government over its silence on the issue.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of weakness, saying, “When you allow the exclusion of women journalists from a public forum, you are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them. Your silence exposes the emptiness of your slogans on Nari Shakti.”

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra echoed the sentiment, asking Modi to “clarify his position” on the matter. “If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to another, how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country?” she posted on X.

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government’s acquiescence amounted to a “(Tali)ban on female journalists in India”, adding that it was “shocking and unacceptable” such exclusion was permitted “on the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child”.

Former Home minister P. Chidambaram said male journalists should have walked out in solidarity, while CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby and CPI general secretary D. Raja called the exclusion “deplorable” and a “nourishment to patriarchal ideology”. “This is not diplomatic nuance,” Raja said. “It is nourishment to a mindset that wants to erase half the world from public life.”

Trinamool Congress MPs Mahua Moitra and Sagarika Ghose also condemned the episode. Moitra said the government had “dishonoured every single Indian woman by allowing the Taliban minister to exclude women journalists”. Ghose termed the act “unacceptable and hateful”, calling it a “surrender by a weak, failed Modi government”.

RJD MP Manoj Jha said India had “compromised its moral and diplomatic standing” by permitting such exclusion. “This symbolic surrender erodes our commitment to equality, freedom of the press, and gender justice,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi pointed out the irony of the event’s backdrop, saying, “No women journalists invited for the presser — the Bamiyan Buddhas (destroyed by the Taliban) were the backdrop. Truly ironic.”

The Congress, from its official X handle, accused the government of normalising “disregard for women’s dignity”, demanding answers from the prime minister and external affairs minister.

Meanwhile, the Darul Uloom Deoband, where Muttaqi visited on Saturday, denied barring female journalists. Its spokesperson Ashraf Usmani said there were “no restrictions” from the Afghan minister’s office, adding that the scheduled public event was cancelled “due to overcrowding and security reasons”.

The Taliban regime has faced widespread criticism globally — including from the United Nations — for its draconian restrictions on women’s rights in Afghanistan, including bans on education and employment.

With PTI inputs