Women journalists barred from Taliban presser in Delhi; MEA denies India’s role

New Delhi: Amid the controversy over the Taliban’s decision to bar women journalists from a press conference addressed by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi, the Government of India on Saturday issued a clarification denying any role in the matter.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that Afghanistan’s Consul General sent invitations to the press event in Mumbai to selected journalists based in Delhi for the Afghan minister’s visit. According to an NDTV report, the MEA maintained that the Afghan Embassy’s premises are outside the jurisdiction of the Indian government.

The press conference took place on Friday at the Afghan Embassy, where no women journalists were present. According to unverified reports, some female reporters were even prevented from attending. Following the event, several journalists expressed their disapproval on social media, noting that all women present had adhered to the prescribed dress code.

Several Opposition leaders have questioned the Centre’s stance on the exclusion of women from the event.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify his position on the absence of women journalists from the press conference. She described 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,” she wrote on X.

“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 — a country whose women are its backbone and its pride?” she added.

The banning of women journalists has triggered massive backlash on social media.

The Press Conference
Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday and held talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, where they discussed India’s support for Afghanistan’s development, bilateral trade, territorial integrity, people-to-people ties, capacity-building, and several other issues.

However, the press conference held later at 3.30 pm at the Afghan Embassy was not open to the broader media fraternity and excluded women journalists as well.

Despite being a significant diplomatic engagement—especially given New Delhi’s cautious stance on the Taliban—most journalists were neither notified nor granted access.

The Afghan Embassy in Delhi continues to be run by Chargé d’Affaires Mohammad Ibrahim Khil from the erstwhile Ashraf Ghani administration, while the consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad are already under Taliban control.

Journalists who attended the event, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IANS that they were informed about the press conference only on Friday morning. Questions have also been raised about the restricted media access, as only 15–16 journalists were allowed to attend.

According to official sources, Taliban official Ikramuddin Kamil, who heads Afghanistan’s Mumbai Consulate, personally contacted the selected journalists and extended informal invitations.

Women journalists have strongly condemned the Taliban’s ban on female reporters.

The selective outreach and cherry-picking of journalists by Muttaqi’s media team have sparked criticism within press circles, with many arguing that restricting coverage of such a significant event undermines transparency and limits scrutiny of India’s evolving engagement with the Taliban leadership.

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan is known for its restrictions on women, including bans on their employment and education. Recently, it even prohibited books authored by women in Afghan universities and dropped 18 courses, including Gender and Development, Women’s Sociology, Human Rights, Afghan Constitutional Law, and Globalisation and Development.

(With agency inputs)