Women journalists barred: Taliban restricts females at presser in Delhi; draws ire

NEW DELHI: A property league by Afghan overseas curate Amir Khan Muttaqi successful New Delhi connected Friday drew attraction not for what was said, but for who wasn’t successful the room. Women journalists were notably missing from the event, which was attended by lone a constricted fig of reporters.The interaction, held astatine the Afghan Embassy conscionable hours aft Muttaqi’s talks with outer affairs curate S Jaishankar, appeared to reflector the sex restrictions agelong criticised nether the Taliban regime.According to radical acquainted with the matter, the determination connected which journalists would beryllium invited was made by Taliban officials accompanying Muttaqi. The Indian side, quality bureau PTI reported, had suggested that women reporters should besides beryllium included among the invitees, a proposal that was evidently not accepted.Former Union location curate P Chidambaram expressed daze implicit the incident, saying "men journalists should person walked retired erstwhile they recovered that their women colleagues were excluded"."I americium shocked that women journalists were excluded from the property league addressed by Mr Amir Khan Muttaqi of Afghanistan In my idiosyncratic view, the men journalists should person walked retired erstwhile they recovered that their women colleagues were excluded (or not invited)," Chidambaram wrote connected X.

The Taliban authorities successful Kabul has faced sustained planetary condemnation, including from the

United Nations

, for its curbs connected women’s rights, education, and information successful nationalist life.When asked astir the information of women successful Afghanistan, Muttaqi sidestepped the question. Instead, helium maintained that each state had its ain systems and values that should beryllium respected.“Every state has its ain customs, laws and principles, and determination should beryllium respect for them,” helium said.Muttaqi claimed that Afghanistan’s concern had improved since the Taliban takeover successful August 2021, contrasting existent conditions with the years before.“Some 200 to 400 radical died successful Afghanistan each time earlier Taliban started ruling the country,” helium said. “In these 4 years, determination person been nary specified losses. Laws are successful unit and each 1 has their rights. Those who are engaging successful propaganda are making a mistake,” Muttaqi claimed.Defending his government’s record, helium added: "Every state has its ain customs, laws and principles, and works according to those. It is not close that radical are not fixed their rights. If radical were not blessed with the strategy and the laws, wherefore has bid returned?"Even arsenic Muttaqi painted a representation of stability, the lack of women journalists astatine his ain property league enactment successful airy the precise contented that continues to specify Afghanistan’s planetary image, a bid built without the voices of fractional its population.