Taliban Minister meets Indian female journalists after anger

It is often said that a picture can speak a thousand words.

The photo published by Indian newspapers on Monday morning showing female journalists occupying front row seats at the Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister’s press conference in Delhi is certainly one of them.

The conference was called, and it was Amir Khan Muttaqi’s second press event at the Afghan Embassy in about 48 hours. Big sensation Because of the exclusion of women from its first meeting on Friday.

Mottaki said at a conference on Sunday that the exclusion was unintentional and not “intentional.”

He added: “With regard to the press conference (Friday), it was held at short notice and a shortlist of journalists was identified, and the list of participants that was provided was very specific.

He added, “It was more of a technical issue. Our colleagues decided to send an invitation to a specific list of journalists, and there was no other intention than this.”

The United Nations has referred to the situation in Afghanistan as “gender apartheid,” where women and girls are not allowed to attend secondary school or university, or visit parks or gyms. The jobs they are allowed to do are increasingly restricted, and the Taliban government imposes head-to-toe coverings and restricts their travel.

The Taliban government, which regained power in 2021, had previously said it respected women’s rights according to its interpretation of Afghan culture and Islamic law, but Western diplomats said their attempts to gain recognition were hampered by restrictions on women. The suppression of women’s rights under their rule is the harshest in the world.

Pious He arrived in India on Thursday For a week of high-level talks with the government of Russia, the only country so far to fully recognize its government.

Delhi does not officially recognize the de facto rulers of Afghanistan, but it is one of a number of countries that maintains some form of diplomatic or informal relations with them, even maintaining a small mission in Kabul and sending humanitarian aid there.

The visit is seen as a strengthening of relations between the two countries and is key for both – with the Taliban government receiving a boost in its quest for recognition, while India works to advance its strategic and security interests. On Friday, Mottaki met Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who announced that India will reopen its embassy in Kabul, which was closed after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

The press event later in the day was attended by about 16 reporters while female journalists were kept away from the embassy gates.

A source in the Taliban government admitted that women had not been invited to attend.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that it “did not participate in the press dialogue” that took place at the Afghan embassy.

But gender discrimination on Indian soil has angered politicians and journalists, who have criticized the government for allowing it to happen.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by allowing the event to go ahead, “is telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them.”

The Editors’ Guild of India, the Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC), and the Network of Women in Media India (NWMI) issued strong statements, calling the exclusion “extremely discriminatory.”

“Although diplomatic premises may claim protection under the Vienna Convention, this cannot justify blatant gender discrimination in press access to Indian soil,” the union said.

She added: “Whether or not MEA coordinated the event, it is deeply concerning that such a discriminatory exclusion has been allowed to go ahead without challenge.”

NWMI He said It was “the responsibility of the Indian government to uphold the democratic rights and constitutional freedoms of women citizens, including their right to work and livelihood” and they should have questioned this “blatant gender discrimination”.

The group also criticized male journalists who attended Friday’s conference for not standing up for their female colleagues. “In moments like these, silence can be seen as complicity in the normalization of gender discrimination,” the statement said.

Amid growing anger in India, Mottaki’s team sent out new invitations to interaction on Sunday, describing it as an “inclusive” event open to all media workers.

It’s not clear what led up to the second press junket – although there has been no official confirmation, there has been some Speculation The Indian government may have intervened.

The conference was attended by a large number of people, and the minister was asked some strongly worded questions about why women were prevented from attending Friday’s meeting, and the rights of Afghan girls and women.

Mottaki answered: “We have 10 million students in schools and institutes, including more than 2.8 million women and girls. In religious schools, education continues until graduation.” He said: “There are some restrictions, but we never declared that women’s education is religiously forbidden. Rather, it was only postponed until another order was issued.”

Many journalists who attended the press conference questioned the minister’s claim, pointing to the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on girls and women since 2021.

For the past four years, girls over the age of 12 have been denied access to education, and women’s employment options have been severely restricted. In recent weeks, the Taliban government has also Remove books written by women Of universities in Afghanistan.

The Minister’s response to follow-up questions regarding women’s rights in Afghanistan may not have been satisfactory. But as some journalists have pointed out, the organization of the second press conference and the minister receiving questions on gender issues can be seen as progress.