Afghan Minister Explains "Technical Issue" Behind Women Journalists' Exclusion From Press Conference

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi addressed the controversy on Sunday regarding the absence of female journalists at his previous press conference, describing it as merely a "technical issue." This came days after the incident sparked significant outrage for allegedly "insulting women."

"The press conference was organized with limited notice. There was a specific list of journalists who received invitations. It was primarily a technical matter without any other underlying problems. Our team had determined a particular group of journalists to invite. There were no other intentions beyond that," explained the Afghan minister during his second press conference, held two days after the controversial first briefing at the Afghanistan Embassy.

Muttaqi further stated, "Our educational institutions currently serve 10 million students, including more than 2.8 million women and girls. In madrasas, education continues through graduation. While certain restrictions exist, we have never declared women's education religiously forbidden or 'haram' – it's simply postponed pending further directives."

The controversy erupted on Friday when NDTV first reported the complete absence of female journalists at Muttaqi's press conference, with opposition parties condemning the situation as "unacceptable" and an "insult to women."

The media interaction took place shortly after Muttaqi concluded extensive discussions with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Before the press conference began, NDTV had raised concerns with Embassy officials and security personnel about the absence of women journalists at the initial briefing.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi sharply criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the exclusion of female journalists, claiming that by permitting such exclusion from a public forum, the Prime Minister was signaling to every Indian woman that he is "too weak to stand up for them."

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram expressed his dismay on social platform X: "I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan. In my personal opinion, the male journalists should have walked out when they discovered their female colleagues were excluded (or not invited)."

CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby described the exclusion of women journalists as "deplorable" and criticized the Indian government for accepting the Taliban's dictates.

Both the Editors Guild of India and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) condemned the action as highly discriminatory, stating it cannot be justified under diplomatic privilege provisions of the Vienna Convention.

Amid mounting criticism, sources from the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that they had no involvement in organizing the press conference. The ministry explained that invitations were issued to select journalists by Afghanistan's Consul General in Mumbai who were in Delhi covering the Afghan minister's visit. They emphasized that the Afghan Embassy grounds do not fall under Indian government jurisdiction.

According to news agency PTI, the decision regarding which journalists to invite was made by Taliban officials accompanying the foreign minister.

The Taliban administration in Kabul has faced persistent international criticism from various nations and global organizations including the United Nations for its severe restrictions on women's rights in Afghanistan.