Amid the ongoing controversy over the exclusion of women journalists from a Taliban press conference addressed by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on Friday, the Indian government on Saturday clarified that it had no role in the event. Official sources stated that the Ministry of External Affairs was not involved in organising the Taliban press conference, which was attended only by male journalists. The absence of women triggered criticism from opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
Mr. Modi, 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.
In our country, women have the right to equal participation in every space. Your silence in the face of such… https://t.co/FyaxxCteK6
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 11, 2025
Taliban Says Exclusion Was Unintentional
A Taliban spokesperson said women journalists were not intentionally excluded from the Taliban press conference, citing a limited number of passes as the reason. They added that Foreign Minister Muttaqi regularly meets women journalists in Kabul and promised that future press events in India would include women journalists with proper coordination. The spokesperson stressed that the issue was technical, not a policy to bar women.
