Even as the women journalists were not allowed to attend the press conference by Afghanisatan Minister in Delhi, Congress leaders Rahul Gandho, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others slammed the Narendra Modi government at the centre saying when you allow the exclusion of women journalists from a public forum, you are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha while hitting back at the government said, “Mr. Modi, when you allow the exclusion of women journalists from a public forum, you are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them.
“In our country, women have the right to equal participation in every space. Your silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the emptiness of your slogans on Nari Shakti,” he said taking a pot shot at the government.
Even his sister and Kerala Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi also lamented at the government and questioned rhe Prime Minister.
In a post on X, she said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, please clarify your position on the removal of female journalists from the press conference of the representative of the Taliban on his visit to India.”
“If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other, then how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country, a country whose women are its backbone and its pride,” the Congress leader said.
The strong remarks came after a press conference by Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on Friday barred women journalists to attend the event, which was restricted to a handful of male reporters.
Some female journalists were also allegedly stopped from entering the meet. Shortly after the press meet, many journalists expressed their anger on social media and also pointed out that all women reporters had respected the dress code.
Lashing out at the government, Congress general secretary and communication incharge Jairam Ramesh in a post in X said, “(Tali)ban on female journalists in India. Shocking and unacceptable that the Govt of India agreed to it – and that too in New Delhi on the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child.”
Even former union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram slammed the move and in a post on X said, “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 added.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has faced backlash from several countries including United Nations for the restrictions imposed on women, especially barring them from working.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
