In a week marked by diplomatic tensions and sharp political criticism, the exclusion of women journalists from a press conference in New Delhi addressed by Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has ignited a firestorm of debate in India. The incident, which unfolded at the Afghan embassy on October 10, 2025, has drawn condemnation from prominent opposition leaders, reigniting the national conversation about women’s rights, diplomatic protocol, and India’s engagement with the Taliban regime.
The controversy began when Indian women journalists were reportedly barred from attending the press conference hosted by Muttaqi, who was on a week-long visit to India—the first high-level delegation from Kabul since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. According to multiple reports, the decision to exclude women journalists was made by Taliban officials accompanying the foreign minister, despite suggestions from Indian authorities that women should be included among the invitees. As a result, only a handful of reporters, all men, were present at the event, while their female colleagues were left outside the gates.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was among the first to voice her outrage, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to demand an explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “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,” Gandhi wrote. She went further, questioning the sincerity of the government’s commitment to women’s rights: “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.”
The exclusion quickly became a rallying point for other opposition figures. Former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram expressed both shock and disappointment at the development. In a strongly worded post, he declared, “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).”
Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram echoed these sentiments, criticizing not just the Taliban but also the conduct of India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “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 Ministry of External Affairs and S Jaishankar in excluding women journalists from the press briefing of the Taliban Minister,” he said, highlighting the tension between diplomatic realpolitik and the defense of core democratic values.
Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed also weighed in, questioning the legitimacy of the Taliban dictating terms on Indian soil. “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 @narendramodi and @DrSJaishankar for allowing this to happen,” Mohamed stated on X, amplifying calls for accountability.
The episode has underscored the complicated nature of India’s diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Since taking control of Kabul in August 2021, the Taliban regime has faced sustained criticism from the United Nations and numerous governments worldwide for its harsh restrictions on women’s rights, including barring girls from secondary education and imposing severe limits on women’s participation in public life. The optics of an Afghan minister’s visit to India—accompanied by the exclusion of Indian women journalists—has therefore struck a particularly sensitive nerve in the country’s political and civil society spheres.
Those familiar with the matter told ANI and other outlets that Indian officials did, in fact, urge the Afghan delegation to ensure women journalists were included in the press event. However, the final decision rested with the Taliban officials, who maintained their exclusionary stance. This detail has become a focal point in the debate, with critics questioning whether the Indian government did enough to push back against the discriminatory demand or whether it acquiesced too easily in the name of diplomatic engagement.
During the press conference itself, Muttaqi sidestepped a direct question about the plight of women in Afghanistan. Instead, he offered a broad defense of the Taliban’s governance. “Every country has its own customs, laws and principles, and works according to those. It is not correct that people are not given their rights. If people were not happy with the system and the laws, why has peace returned?” he said, as reported by ANI and other sources. Muttaqi further claimed that Afghanistan’s situation had improved since the Taliban assumed power, stating, “Some 200 to 400 people died in Afghanistan every day before the Taliban started ruling the country. In these four years, there have been no such losses. Laws are in force and everyone has their rights. Those who are engaging in propaganda are making a mistake.”
These statements did little to quell criticism, either internationally or domestically. The United Nations and other global bodies have repeatedly documented widespread violations of women’s rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return, including bans on education, employment, and public activities for women and girls. The exclusion of Indian women journalists from the New Delhi press conference was thus seen by many as an extension of the Taliban’s oppressive policies, now exported onto Indian soil.
The incident has also sparked debate about the proper response from Indian journalists themselves. P Chidambaram’s suggestion that male journalists should have boycotted the press conference in solidarity with their female colleagues has found resonance among some media professionals, who argue that such collective action is necessary to uphold journalistic ethics and gender equality. Others, however, point to the complex realities of diplomatic reporting, where access is often tightly controlled and the consequences of protest can be severe.
For the Indian government, the episode presents a delicate balancing act. On one hand, India must maintain channels of communication with Afghanistan for reasons of regional security and stability, especially as the Taliban’s hold on power appears entrenched. On the other hand, the government faces growing domestic pressure to defend India’s values of gender equality and democratic openness, particularly when those values are challenged so publicly.
As the week-long visit of the Taliban delegation continues, the controversy shows no signs of abating. The incident has not only put the spotlight on the Taliban’s treatment of women but also forced a reckoning within India about how far the country is willing to go in accommodating the demands of regimes whose values are at odds with its own. The question posed by Priyanka Gandhi and echoed by others—whether the government’s recognition of women’s rights is genuine or merely “convenient posturing”—now hangs in the air, demanding an answer.
The debate over the exclusion of women journalists from the Afghan minister’s press conference is far from a minor diplomatic spat. It has become a symbol of larger struggles over gender equality, press freedom, and the moral boundaries of international engagement, with implications that will likely echo well beyond this single event.