Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra criticised the Modi government after women journalists were barred from a press conference with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi, labeling the situation as “shameful” and a dishonor to Indian women.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Modi government after women journalists were barred from a press conference addressed by visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi, calling the episode “shameful” and “dishonourable to every Indian woman”.
“This is a country that gave the same universal franchise to women. We didn’t have to go through a suffragette movement. Our founding fathers gave the right of the vote to women at the same time. We’ve had an Indian female prime minister, a woman prime minister, when the President of the United States has never been a woman. That’s our legacy,” Moitra said in a video message.
“And this is the state of the Indian government today? Is this diplomacy? We have no problem with you engaging with our neighbours, but you please do it on our terms. It is shameful that this Indian government is engaging with the Taliban on their terms on our soil and discriminating against and dishonouring every single mother, sister and woman of India,” she added.
Lying down & accepting Talibani diktats is the ultimate dishonour to the women of India. Engage on our terms, not theirs Hon’ble @narendramodi ! pic.twitter.com/gjZWP6zib4
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 11, 2025
The absence of female journalists from the event triggered strong criticism from the opposition and media bodies, who described it as “unacceptable” and an “insult to women”. The Editors Guild of India (EGI) and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) both termed the exclusion “highly discriminatory” and said it could not be justified under diplomatic privilege.
“While diplomatic premises may claim protection under the Vienna Convention, that cannot justify blatant gender discrimination in press access on Indian soil,” the EGI said, adding, “Whether or not the MEA coordinated the event, it is deeply troubling that such a discriminatory exclusion was allowed to proceed without objection.”
The IWPC also raised strong objections, saying the act “goes against the grain of our democratic ethos and constitutional values that uphold gender equality”. It urged the government to ensure such incidents are not repeated.
Opposition leaders tore into the Modi government, accusing it of endorsing Taliban-style discrimination. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said by allowing the exclusion of women scribes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shown he was “too weak to stand up for them”.
“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,” Gandhi posted on X, adding that the silence of the government “exposes the emptiness” of its slogans on Nari Shakti.
