Afghanistan foreign minister Muttaqi justifies over excluding female journalists from his Delhi press conference

In a diplomatic dust-up that has amplified global scrutiny on the Taliban's stance towards women, Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi found himself at the center of a firestorm after a press conference at the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi on Friday featured not a single female journalist among the attendees, igniting accusations of blatant gender discrimination right on Indian soil. The hastily organized event, held just after Muttaqi's talks with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, drew sharp rebukes from the opposition parties.

Journalists' bodies, including the Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women's Press Corps, slammed the exclusion as "highly discriminatory" and indefensible, even under diplomatic privileges. This wasn't just a scheduling slip; it echoed the Taliban's broader crackdown on women's public roles back home, where female education and employment remain severely curtailed, turning a routine media meet into a flashpoint for feminist fury and questions about India's engagement with the regime. Muttaqi, undeterred by the weekend uproar, doubled down with a second press conference today, framing the all-male lineup as a mere "technical issue" born of short notice and a limited invite list curated by his team—no malice intended, he insisted. "It was more of a technical issue but there was no other problem. Our colleagues had decided to send the invitation to a specific list of journalists. There were no other intentions other than that," he explained, attempting to douse the flames while sidestepping deeper accountability.

As the echoes of this embarrassment ripple through diplomatic circles, Muttaqi pivoted to a softer sell on women's issues, touting that over 2.8 million girls are enrolled in Afghan schools and madrasas. The incident has reignited debates all over the nation in normalizing ties with the Taliban since their 2021 takeover, balancing security concerns with human rights advocacy. With opposition voices amplifying calls for a firmer stance, today's press conference serves as a stark reminder that symbols matter in international relations, potentially straining the fragile thaw between New Delhi and Kabul just as economic and regional dialogues gain tentative momentum.