Taliban foreign minister’s Delhi press meet sparks outrage after women journalists denied entry

New Delhi —-A major diplomatic event in the capital has stirred controversy after reports confirmed that women journalists were barred from attending the press conference of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday.
Muttaqi, who is on a two-day official visit to India, addressed the media on the second day of his trip, expressing gratitude to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and the Indian government for their invitation and hospitality. However, the exclusion of women reporters from the event has drawn widespread condemnation, raising questions about gender bias in high-level diplomatic interactions.
“Not a single woman journalist was allowed at today’s press conference by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi,” tweeted Rajan Pandit, a senior journalist from The Times of India, tagging his post with #GenderDiscrimination to highlight the exclusionary act.
The incident has triggered outrage among media circles and human rights activists, who have called it a blatant extension of Taliban’s regressive gender policies onto Indian soil. Critics argue that hosting a Taliban official under such discriminatory conditions tarnishes India’s image as a democratic nation that upholds press freedom and gender equality.
Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan has imposed some of the world’s harshest restrictions on women. Girls have been banned from secondary and higher education, most professions have been closed to women, and they are prohibited from traveling without a male guardian. Public spaces such as parks, gyms, and workplaces have also been shut to women.
Since regaining control of Kabul in 2021, the Taliban regime has been repeatedly condemned by international organizations for systematically erasing women from public life.
The New Delhi episode has reignited the debate over India’s diplomatic engagement with the Taliban. While officials have maintained that talks with Afghan representatives are limited to humanitarian and regional security concerns, the symbolic exclusion of women journalists at a press event hosted on Indian soil has cast a long shadow over the visit.
Rights groups and journalist associations have urged the Ministry of External Affairs to issue a clarification, calling the incident “a matter of principle” and demanding that India reaffirm its commitment to gender equality and media freedom in all diplomatic forums.