After facing criticism from all quarters for not including women journalists in his previous press conference, Afghanistan Foreign Minister Aamir Khan Muttaki called another press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, in which women journalists were invited this time.
Muttaqi, who is on a week-long visit to India, had faced strong condemnation from journalists, opposition leaders and women’s rights advocates for including only men in her first press conference held on October 10.
Cited ‘technical problem’
Many organizations including the Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women’s Press Corps had termed the boycott of women journalists as extremely discriminatory. Amid growing criticism, Muttaqi’s team issued new invitations calling Sunday’s press conference an inclusive event for all media persons.
Muttaki dismissed the controversy over the exclusion of women journalists from Friday’s press conference, calling it the result of a technical problem rather than a deliberate action.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he said, ‘Regarding the press conference, it was organized at short notice and a short list of journalists was decided… It was mostly a technical problem. Our colleagues had decided to send invitations to a specific list of journalists and had no other intention. ‘No one’s rights, be it a man or a woman, should ever be deprived,’ he stressed.
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Indian government shrugged it off
Facing heavy criticism over the issue, the Government of India distanced itself from its participation in organizing the previous press conference. Official sources clarified on Saturday, ‘The Ministry of External Affairs had no involvement in the press conference held by the Afghan Foreign Minister in Delhi yesterday.’
The clarification came after several opposition leaders accused the government of allowing a discriminatory event to be organized on Indian soil.
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opposition attack
Opposition leaders directly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government for this boycott. Rahul Gandhi said that allowing women journalists to be excluded from the program raises questions about the Prime Minister’s commitment to women’s rights. He wrote, ‘Your silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the hollowness of your slogans on women power.’
Seeking an explanation from the Prime Minister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked that if recognizing women’s rights is not just a show-off from one election to the next, then how were some of India’s most capable women allowed to be insulted in our country?
Terming the boycott as ‘shameful’, TMC’s Mahua Moitra said the government has insulted every Indian woman by allowing the Taliban minister to keep out women journalists.
Muttaqi, who is on his first official visit to Afghanistan since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021, had on Friday discussed bilateral trade, humanitarian assistance and security cooperation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. His visit is taking place amid continuous criticism of the Taliban’s policies restricting women’s rights, education and public participation.