Three days after being barred from the Taliban’s foreign minister’s press conference in India, female journalists took their seats in force and questioned him about the social exclusion of Afghan women.
Images from Reuters show Foreign Minister Amir Khan al-Muttaqi confronting a line of female reporters inside the Afghan embassy in Delhi on Sunday.
The audience was a rare one for the Taliban minister, who represents an all-male government that has slowly suffocated the freedoms and dreams of Afghan women and girls for more than four years.
“Why are we doing this in Afghanistan? When will they be able to return home and have the right to an education?” asked Smita Sharma, a prominent independent journalist.
Muttaqi’s week-long visit to India will be the first foreign diplomatic visit by a Taliban leader since the hard-line Islamist group seized power in 2021.
The visit was seen as a reset of relations between Delhi and Kabul and part of efforts to have the Taliban recognized as the legitimate government.
Only men were invited to Muttaki’s first press conference on Friday, which many Indian reporters, news organizations and opposition politicians described as an affront to India’s democratic principles and press freedom.
The Press Club of India “strongly condemns” the exclusion of women journalists and called on the Indian government to “ensure that foreign powers are not allowed to dictate the terms of engagement with the Indian media.”
The Editors’ Guild of India called the decision “blatant sexism on Indian soil”.
Local media reported that India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was “not involved in the press conference” by the Afghan foreign minister.
The government’s response only fueled criticism that the world’s largest democracy was clearly capitulating to the Taliban, who have been isolated diplomatically over the treatment of women and girls.
“Our first reaction was obviously anger. But what we really hoped was that the Indian government would at least criticize and say something about it,” said Suhasini Haider, foreign affairs editor at The Hindu, who attended the second press conference.
“This is also about precedent, and the idea that a representative of the Taliban, and the Taliban is a government not recognized by India, can come to Delhi and host a press conference without women is not going to set a precedent for future interactions.”
Afghanistan remains the only country in the world that prohibits girls and women from receiving general education beyond secondary school. The government dictates how women must dress, where they can and cannot go, and who they must go with. For example, you must travel with a male guardian.
The ban is part of a wider crackdown on women’s rights by the Taliban, which UN groups and activists accuse of presiding over “gender apartheid”.
In July, the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for two top Taliban leaders, citing the persecution of women and girls as evidence of crimes against humanity.
At a press conference on Sunday, Foreign Minister Mutaki justified the absence of female journalists from the first press conference, citing “technical issues.”
“It was organized at short notice. The list of invited journalists was limited… It was a technical issue, but there were no other problems,” Muttaki told reporters. “Our colleagues had decided to send an invitation to a specific list of journalists. We had no other intention.”
Haider believes that public pressure after the first meeting “actually sparked something, so it was actually the Taliban who decided that bad press wasn’t worth it.”
Female journalists were invited inside the embassy to ask questions along with their male colleagues, but were not required to wear head coverings. Haider said he acknowledged there was no reason not to include women in the initial briefing session.
In a “moment of media unity,” Haider said male reporters vacated the first few rows of press conferences for their female colleagues, so women were primarily front and center.
Muttaqi faced tough questions about why Afghan girls and women were being excluded from school and the workforce.
“There are 10 million students attending schools and other educational institutions, of whom 2.8 million are women and girls. In religious seminaries, this educational opportunity is available all the way to graduation level, the highest level,” Muttaqi replied.
“There are certain restrictions in certain areas, but that doesn’t mean we are against education,” the Taliban leader said.
Mr Haider said the minister’s response was “obviously a very well-rehearsed lie”.
“We knew that for a fact, but he kept repeating it,” she said.
Russia remains the only foreign government to formally recognize the Taliban, and diplomatic officials say efforts toward recognition require a change in direction on women’s rights.
India has strengthened diplomatic relations with Afghanistan but has not yet recognized the Taliban regime.
Analysts say a senior Taliban official’s visit to India signals a shift in relations as a counterbalance to worsening ties with neighboring Pakistan.
On Friday, after Mr. Muttaqi met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India announced it would upgrade its diplomatic mission in Kabul to an embassy, which had been closed when the Taliban recaptured Kabul in 2021.
Mutaki’s UN-sanctioned trip was only possible after the UN Security Council granted him a travel exemption.
Haider said the visit was aimed at normalizing relations between the Taliban government and India.
“There are many good reasons to engage with the Taliban,” she said.
“The question is: How far are we willing to go on the path of normalization, diplomatic improvement, and finally recognition before we feel our principles have been compromised?”
