NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi on Saturday led a wave of opposition outrage after women journalists were barred from a Taliban press conference in New Delhi. Taking direct aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress MP addressed PM Modi and said, “you are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up for them.”The remark came as several opposition leaders condemned the government for allowing such an event, calling it a shameful affront to women’s rights and democratic values.Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, voiced his disappointment over the incident and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, writing on X, “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.”He added, “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.”Lok Sabha member Priyanka Gandhi also addressed the issue, asking the prime minister to clarify the government’s position. She wrote on X, “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.”Priyanka added, “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.”Former home minister P Chidambaram expressed shock over the exclusion, writing, “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).”TMC MP Mahua Moitra also targeted the Modi-led government, saying, “The government has dishonoured every single Indian woman by allowing Taliban minister to exclude women journalists from presser. Shameful bunch of spineless hypocrites.”She added in another post on X, “How dare our government allow Taliban foreign minister Amir Muttaqi to exclude women journalists & hold a ‘male-only’ news conference on Indian soil with full protocol? How dare EAM Jaishankar agree to this? & why did our emasculated spineless male journos remain in room?”The press conference was held at the Afghanistan embassy hours after Taliban FM talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar, where women journalists were barred from entry. The forum was only opened to a few male journalists, reflecting the Taliban’s ongoing record of gender discrimination.Sources say the decision on journalist invitations was made by Taliban officials accompanying Muttaqi. The Taliban government in Kabul has faced sustained global condemnation, including from the United Nations, for its restrictions on women’s rights, education, and participation in public life.Amid backlash, the ministry of external affairs clarified to ANI that India had “no involvement” in the press interaction held by Muttaqi.When asked about the condition of women in Afghanistan, Muttaqi sidestepped the question, saying, “Every country has its own customs, laws and principles, and there should be respect for them.” He claimed Afghanistan’s situation had improved since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, contrasting current conditions with previous years. “Some 200 to 400 people died in Afghanistan every day before Taliban started ruling the country,” he said.
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