‘...Should Have Walked Out’: Chidambaram Expresses Shock Over Exclusion Of Women Journalists From Afghan FM’s Presser; Mahua Moitra Slams Govt

New Delhi: Women journalists were not invited to the press conference of Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Delhi on Friday, October 10. The incident triggered massive backlash as it again highlighted the gender bias of the Taliban administration in Afghanistan.

Several Opposition leaders, including P Chidambaram, expressed shock and disappointment over the exclusion of women journalists from the press briefing. The former Union Home Minister was of the opinion that male journalists should have boycotted the presser and walked out of it in support of their female colleagues.

“I am shocked that women journalists were excluded from the press conference addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan. In my personal view, the men journalists should have walked out when they found that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited)," he said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Karti Chidamabaram slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and expressed disappointment with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

"I understand the geopolitical compulsions that force us to engage with the Taliban, but to acede to their discriminatory & plain primitive mores is outright ridiculous, it's very disappointing to note the conduct of the Ministry of External Affairs and S Jaishankar in excluding women journalists from the press briefing of the Taliban Minister," he said.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, in a video message, called the incident “horrendous”.

“I'm putting out this video to bring to everyone's attention the horrendous incident that has occurred today in Delhi on Indian soil. The visiting Taliban delegation of the Foreign Minister Aamir Muttaqi has met with Dr S Jaishankar, our External Affairs Minister, today, following which the Taliban Foreign Minister held a presser in Delhi on Indian soil, where women journalists were not allowed. The Indian Foreign Ministry has laid out the red carpet for this man, this Taliban foreign minister, who has had the gumption to ask for women to be removed from a room where he's having a press conference. And we are giving this delegation official status and providing them protocol,” Moitra said.

He also questioned the male journalists who attended the press conference. “And every male journalist who participated in this press conference didn't utter a word of protest. Are you emasculated? Are you spineless? I'm asking all the journalists who were in that room, the male journalists,” she added.

Lashing out at the Central Government for holding Muttaqi’s press conference, Moitra said that the government dishonoured the country’s “values”. “You're talking about Beti Bachao, you're talking about, you know, women in India, you're talking about maas and behens and all of that. And you are providing at taxpayer expense, official protocol and the red carpet for a delegation for a government delegation that is actually on Indian soil, dishonouring our values and asking for women to be removed from the room.”

In July this year, the United Nations expressed concern over the “systematic” oppression of women in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to change its policies.