Priyanka Gandhi slams ban on women journalists at Taliban event, asks PM Modi to clarify

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday (October 11) urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify his stance on the exclusion of women journalists from a press conference addressed by visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, calling the incident "an insult to some of India’s most competent women."

Also Read: Afghan min seeks better ties with India, Pak: ‘Courage of Afghans shouldn’t be tested’

'Convenient posturing' on women’s rights

The Congress general secretary questioned whether the Prime Minister’s support for women’s rights was genuine or merely “convenient posturing” during elections and asked how has this "insult to some of India's most competent women been allowed in our country".

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 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," Priyanka said on X.

"If your recognition of women's rights isn't just convenient posturing from one election to the other, 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," Priyanka further aasked.

The press conference addressed by Muttaqi on Friday (October 10) restricted participation to a small group of reporters, with women journalists conspicuously absent.

No women journalists in Taliban presser

The interaction took place at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, shortly after Muttaqi’s held wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

It is learnt that the decision on inviting journalists to the media interaction was taken by Taliban officials accompanying the foreign minister.

According to a PTI report quoting people familiar with the matter, the Indian side had suggested to the Afghan officials that women journalists should be be included among the invitees for the event.

Also Read: ‘Enough is enough’: Pakistan warns Taliban regime over cross-border terror

Congress condemns exclusion of women journalists

Expressing dismay, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram wrote on X, "I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan." "In my personal view, the men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited)," Chidambaram said.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, "I understand the geopolitical compulsions that force us to engage with the Taliban, but to accede to their discriminatory and plain primitive mores is outright ridiculous, it's very disappointing to note the conduct of the MEA India and S Jaishankar in excluding women journalists from the press briefing of the Taliban Minister."

Echoing similar concerns, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed posted on X, "Is it true that women journalists were not invited to the press conference of Afghanistan's Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as dictated by him? Who are they to dictate terms to our nation, that too on our own soil, and impose their discriminatory agenda against women?" "Shame on Narendra Modi and S Jaishankar for allowing this to happen," the Congress leader added.

Muttaqi defends Taliban’s rule

The Taliban regime in Kabul has faced international condemnation for curbing women’s rights in Afghanistan. Muttaqi avoided a direct response to a question on the plight of women in Afghanistan, saying every nation has its own customs, laws and principles, and that there should be respect for them.

He claimed that the overall situation in Afghanistan has "improved significantly" ever since the Taliban came to power in August 2021.

Muttaqi noted that before the Taliban assumed power, around 200 to 400 people were dying in Afghanistan every day. “In the past four years, there have been no such casualties. Laws are in place, and everyone enjoys their rights. Those spreading propaganda are mistaken,” he said.

"Every country operates according to its own customs, laws, and principles," he added. "It’s incorrect to say that people are deprived of their rights. If citizens were unhappy with the system and its laws, peace would not have returned," he noted.

(With Agency inputs)