Opposition parties like the Congress, its alliance partners and the Trinamool questioned the Narendra Modi government over the apparent exclusion of women journalists from the news conference of the Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi, even as the ministry of external affairs seemed to wash its hands of the incident.
“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,” leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi wrote on his X handle.
“In our country, women have the right to equal participation in every space. Your silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the emptiness of your slogans on Nari Shakti.”
Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Muttaqi’s event, held hours after his meeting with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, was attended exclusively by male reporters, a decision that many saw as an affront to India's democratic and gender equality values.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called the exclusion "an insult to some of India's most competent women" and demanded clarification.
"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," she wrote 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."
Her party colleague Jairam Ramesh posted, "(Tali)ban on female journalists in India. Shocking and unacceptable that the Govt of India agreed to it and that too in New Delhi on the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child."
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asked, "Why did the Modi government agree to this men-only Talibani diktat? How weak are you, @DrSJaishankar and @narendramodi?"
On its official X handle, the Congress party accused the government of "utter disregard for women's dignity," adding, "How can they let anyone disrespect women on our soil? Or is this the government's own vision for women's silence, exclusion, and submission?"
Former Union home minister P. Chidambaram said he was "shocked" that women journalists were excluded: "In my personal view, the men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited)."
Trinamool Congress MPs Mahua Moitra and Sagarika Ghose slammed the government for allowing what they called "Taliban-style discrimination."
"The government has dishonoured every single Indian woman by allowing the Taliban minister to exclude women journalists from his presser. Shameful bunch of spineless hypocrites," Moitra said.
Ghose added that the Modi government "reveals its failure to evolve a foreign policy in which engagement is separated from endorsement," calling the exclusion "Unacceptable and hateful."
RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha said the episode symbolised "a surrender of India's long-cherished commitment to equality, freedom of the press, and gender justice."
"This sends out the wrong message to Indian women and the global community that convenience has triumphed over conviction," he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said: " ," she added.
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."
A number of reports on Saturday quoted unnamed Union Ministry of External Affairs officials as saying that the ministry had “no involvement” in the press interaction.
The event, held at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, was organised by Taliban officials who decided which journalists to invite, the MEA was quoted as saying.
Some other reports said the Indian side suggested that women reporters be included but the request was ignored.
Journalists expressed frustration and disbelief over the government's silence.
Suhasini Haidar of The Hindu asked the external affairs ministry whether it approved such exclusion, writing, "What is even more ridiculous is that the Taliban FM is allowed to bring their abhorrent and illegal discrimination against women to India, as the government hosts the Taliban delegation with full official protocol. This isn't pragmatism, this is supplication."
Vijaita Singh, deputy editor at The Hindu, said male reporters should have walked out in protest. Another journalist replied, "Sorry to say, but this picture shows that they all willingly accepted the Taliban ideology against women. It's absolutely shameful."
Smita Sharma, a Delhi-based journalist, posted a photo of the event and pointed out that neither Jaishankar nor Muttaqi made any mention of Afghan women's plight. "No Woman Journalist invited to the news conference by Muttaqi. No reference to the horrible plight of Afghan girls and women under Taliban regime in opening remarks of EAM Jaishankar or the joint statement issued after talks with Muttaqi," she wrote.
Muttaqi, when asked about women's rights in Afghanistan, said: "Every country has its own customs, laws and principles, and there should be respect for them."
He insisted that "the overall situation in Afghanistan has improved significantly since the Taliban came to power in August 2021," claiming that "laws are in force and everyone has their rights."
The Taliban, since returning to power, has banned girls from secondary schools and universities, restricted women from most workplaces, and imposed stringent social codes measures that the United Nations and global rights groups have described as "gender apartheid."
Even during humanitarian crises, such as the September earthquake, the Taliban's gender restrictions reportedly delayed aid to women trapped under rubble, drawing international criticism.
Muttaqi's visit the highest-level Taliban delegation to India since 2021 - comes amid India's re-engagement with Afghanistan. The two sides discussed trade, humanitarian cooperation, and regional security.
In his opening remarks, Jaishankar reaffirmed India's commitment to Afghanistan's "sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence."
India also announced plans to reopen its embassy in Kabul, closed four years ago after the Taliban's takeover.