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October 12, 2025 – Afghanistan –
When Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited New Delhi in October 2025, he faced sharp criticism after women journalists were initially excluded from a press conference. The decision sparked outcry and was condemned as gender discrimination—and once the backlash mounted, a second press session was convened that included female reporters.
Reporter Arpan Rai described how she and her female colleagues were forced to wait outside while male counterparts entered the venue without hindrance—despite efforts to secure interviews in the days leading up to the delegation’s arrival. At the later press event, women took front-row seats and posed tough questions on women’s education and employment bans in Afghanistan, countering the narrative the Taliban often attempts to control.
This diplomatic maneuver underscores a broader media challenge. The Taliban consistently restricts women’s public presence and voice—especially within journalism—making the presence of women journalists at international engagements especially symbolic.
In a related vein, veteran CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward has long reported on Afghanistan and the perilous conditions facing female journalists under Taliban rule. She has highlighted how even established foreign correspondents must navigate censorship, shifting rules, and the erasure of women reporters from public discourse entirely.
Together, these cases illustrate how press access is not only a matter of logistics in conflict diplomacy but is deeply intertwined with gender and power. When women journalists are barred, silenced, or sidelined, the stories told—whether about rights, resistance, or daily life—are impoverished. In the standoff between control and visibility, that exclusion becomes a tool: not just of messaging, but of omission.
Reference –
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031234338/cnn-clasrissa-ward-on-the-taliban-and-afghan-women
