'Insult to women': Oppn, media bodies slam women journalists' absence from Afghan FM presser

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The opposition and media bodies on Saturday termed the absence of female journalists from a press conference of visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi "unacceptable" and an "insult to women", and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the "emptiness" of his slogans on 'Nari Shakti'.

The Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) termed the act as highly discriminatory, which cannot be justified on grounds of diplomatic privilege under the Vienna Convention.

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Modi over the absence of female journalists from the presser, saying by allowing "exclusion" of women scribes from a public forum, the prime minister is telling every woman in India that he is "too weak to stand up for them".

In a post on X, Gandhi said, "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 discrimination exposes the emptiness of your slogans on Nari Shakti," the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said if the prime minister's 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?" She asked Modi to clarify his position on the absence of women journalists from Muttaqi's press conference, and described the incident as an "insult to some of India's most competent women".

"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 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 Gandhi said.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "(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." In another post, Ramesh said, "Imagine if a Congress government had reached out to the Taliban in the manner in which the Modi Govt has done: what the reaction of the BJP and its ecosystem would have been." The press conference addressed by Muttaqi on Friday saw participation restricted to a handful of reporters, while women journalists were conspicuous by their absence.

Muttaqi held the interaction at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, hours after holding 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.

People familiar with the matter said the Indian side suggested to the Afghan side that women journalists should be part of the invitees for the event.

In a statement, the Editors Guild of India said, "While diplomatic premises may claim protection under the Vienna Convention, that cannot justify blatant gender discrimination in press access on Indian soil".

"Whether or not the MEA coordinated the event, it is deeply troubling that such a discriminatory exclusion was allowed to proceed without objection," it said.

The IWPC, in a statement, said it raises strong objections to the reported exclusion of women journalists at the press conference held by Muttaqi.

The decision for inviting journalists was reportedly taken by officials accompanying the foreign minister, who represents the Taliban regime that has faced severe criticism globally for restricting the rights of women, the IWPC said.

"Established to promote and advance the professional growth of women journalists, the IWPC sees this act as highly discriminatory. It goes against the grain of our democratic ethos and constitutional values that uphold gender equality," the statement said.

"We urge the government of India to take this matter up with the Afghan Embassy to ensure that such gender-based exclusion in media briefings does not occur in the future," IWPC said.

Following Muttaqi's visit to the Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, the seminary asserted that there were no directives to keep women journalists away from covering the visit of the Afghanistan foreign minister.

"There were no restrictions from the Afghan foreign minister's office about who would attend," Deoband PRO Ashraf Usmani, also the media in-charge of Muttaqi’s Saturday programme, told PTI, and dismissed as "baseless" claims that women journalists were kept away.

The Islamic seminary's clarification came regarding a public event of the Afghanistan minister that was scheduled to be held during his visit to the Darul Uloom Deoband in Saharanpur on Saturday but was called off at the last moment due to "overcrowding" and "security reasons".

Former home minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, in a post on X, said, "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.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra also slammed the government on the issue.

"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," she said on X.

Another Trinamool MP, Sagarika Ghose, claimed the Modi government again "reveals its failure to evolve a foreign policy in which engagement is separated from endorsement".

"Women journalists being excluded from the #Taliban press conference in Delhi is UNACCEPTABLE and HATEFUL. This is not oh-so-smart 'geostrategic diplomacy', it is a surrender by the weak, failed Narendra Modi coalition government," she said in a post on X.

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha said that by not allowing women journalists to attend the press conference of the Taliban foreign minister, India has compromised its own moral and diplomatic standing.

"This is not just a procedural lapse but a symbolic surrender of India's long-cherished commitment to equality, freedom of the press, and gender justice," Jha said in a post on X.

"For a country that has prided itself on being the world's largest democracy and a champion of women's participation in every sphere, this incident is deeply disappointing and politically short-sighted," he said.

"It sends out the wrong message to Indian women and the global community that convenience has triumphed over conviction. Jai Hind," he added.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said on X, "No women journalists invited for the presser (because of Taliban beliefs). The Bamiyan Buddhas (destroyed by the Taliban) were the backdrop at the presser.

"The messaging of the 'Emirates of Afghanistan' as recognised as of yesterday by the Indian government. Truly ironic," she said.

The Congress, on its official X handle, said women journalists were barred from Taliban Foreign Minister Muttaqi's press conference on Indian soil.

"This is not just about one event. It reflects the utter disregard for women's dignity that has become normal under the Modi government. When the world looks to India, a democracy built on equality, what message are we sending by allowing such discrimination to take place here? "We demand answers from the Modi government. 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? How weak are you, @DrSJaishankar and @narendramodi, that you cannot even defend the basic dignity of Indian women in your own country," the party said.

The Taliban regime in Kabul has faced severe criticism from various countries as well as global bodies like the United Nations for restricting the rights of women in Afghanistan. PTI ASK SKU RHL