Centre denies involvement after Taliban bars women journalists.
A press conference at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi on Friday drew attention after no women were seen among the journalists or participants attending the event.
‘No Role’: India Distances Itself After Taliban Bars Women Journalists from Delhi Press MeetNew Delhi:
India on Saturday firmly stated that it had “no role to play” in a controversial press conference addressed by Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi — an event that sparked widespread outrage after no women journalists were allowed to attend.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) moved quickly to clarify its position after videos and reports emerged from the event showing an all-male group of attendees. The incident, which took place on the premises of the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi on Friday, drew sharp criticism from journalists, activists, and political observers who called it a distressing reminder of the Taliban’s continuing suppression of women.
In a statement released Saturday, the MEA said the press meet had been organized by the Afghan mission itself, not by the Indian government. Invitations, it explained, had been extended to “select journalists” by the Afghanistan Consul General in Mumbai, who was in Delhi as part of the Afghan foreign minister’s visit.
“India had no involvement in the organization, selection of journalists, or conduct of the event.”
Outrage Over Missing WomenDespite those assurances, the optics of the press conference have unsettled many. The Friday event — held at the Afghan Embassy, now operating under Taliban-appointed representatives — featured male journalists seated in rows before Minister Muttaqi, who spoke about Afghanistan’s relations with neighboring countries and humanitarian priorities.
What was conspicuously missing was the presence of any woman — not a single female journalist, staff member, or attendee was visible. Several women reporters later said they were denied entry despite receiving informal communication about the event. Others claimed that security personnel had stopped them at the gates.
One Delhi-based Afghan journalist, requesting anonymity for safety reasons, said she was told the “arrangements were full.” Another Indian reporter wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
“We followed every rule — the dress code, the guidelines — but were still turned away. The message was clear: women are not welcome.”
The outrage spilled onto social media soon after, with journalists and activists condemning the episode as a “Taliban-style press meet in the heart of Delhi.”
“India cannot wash its hands off this,” one journalist wrote. “Even if it happened on embassy grounds, this is New Delhi, not Kabul.”
Taliban’s Record on WomenThe incident comes against the backdrop of Afghanistan’s increasingly harsh restrictions on women under Taliban rule. Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban government has systematically erased women from public life — banning them from most jobs, closing girls’ secondary schools and universities, and even forbidding them from entering public parks.
In recent months, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has tightened its control further. Books authored by women have been banned from Afghan universities, and 18 academic courses — including Gender and Development, Women’s Sociology, Human Rights, and Afghan Constitutional Law — have been dropped entirely.
“Women have been erased not just from classrooms but from the national narrative,” said an Afghan academic now living in exile in India. “To see that mindset exported here, even briefly, is painful.”
For New Delhi, the episode poses a delicate diplomatic challenge. While India does not formally recognize the Taliban government, it maintains limited engagement with Afghan officials, largely to coordinate humanitarian aid and safeguard Indian interests in the region.
Officials have repeatedly said that India’s engagement does not equate to endorsement. Yet, Friday’s event placed the government in an uncomfortable spotlight — appearing, at least from the outside, as a host to a discriminatory event.
Political analysts noted that while India’s explanation is technically valid — embassies are sovereign territories — the optics still carry weight. “For the average citizen, the location doesn’t matter. What they see is a Taliban minister holding a press conference in Delhi where women were banned,” said a former Indian diplomat. “That’s an image problem, regardless of jurisdiction.”
Symbolism and SilenceBy Saturday evening, there was still no comment from Amir Khan Muttaqi or the Afghan Embassy about the exclusion of women journalists. Inside media circles, the silence was telling.
“This was not just about one event,” said an Indian television anchor who covered Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal. And that worldview was allowed to play out right here in India.”
For the women journalists who were turned away, the day was more than an insult — it was a reminder of everything their Afghan counterparts have lost. “We left Afghanistan so we could work freely,” one Afghan woman reporter said softly. “To be shut out again, even here, felt like the past following us.”