The Taliban on Friday held a Press Conference at the Afghanistan Embassy. Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, addressed the media following his meeting with MEA Jaishankar. It was a momentous occasion that would have a profound impact on the politics of the Indian Subcontinent. But that is not what opposition politicians and Indian media are discussing.
The biggest point of discussion regarding the visit of the Afghan Foreign Minister is that no women were invited to his press conference. Everyone is well aware that the Taliban lives by traditions and customs that are at odds with Indian Society.
Now, Indian journalists and opposition leaders have decided that the Indian Government share equal blame. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has gone to the extent of declaring that the Taliban authorities “removed” women journalists from the press conference, not that they were not invited in the first place.
This is the party line the Indian National Congress (INC) has adopted on the issue. According to the INC, “This is not just about one event. It reflects the utter disregard for women’s dignity that has become normal under the Modi government.”
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The INC added in its post on X, “When the world looks to India, a democracy built on equality, what message are we sending by allowing such discrimination to take place here? We demand answers from the Modi government.”
RJD Spokesperson and MP Manoj Kumar Jha, too, had a lot to say about the Taliban Press Conference. According to him, “India has compromised its own moral and diplomatic standing. This is not just a procedural lapse but a symbolic surrender of India’s long-cherished commitment to equality, freedom of the press, and gender justice.”
There are tons of polemics being written even now on the Taliban press conference. All of this reveals a lot about the nature of the Indian Polity and the priorities of Indian Media. Theatrics, meaningless symbolism and drama is all that they care about. The essential substance of any event is merrily ignored.
Discourse Drama
The Taliban has always embraced an ultra-orthodox brand of Islam. I do not subscribe to their ideology nor do I feel any necessity to defend their practices. But it’s also true that their conception of gender relations does not affect any Indian in any way whatsoever.
Can any Indian say how did the Taliban’s decision not to invite women journalists to their press conference affect them in any way? Can any Indian women journalist tell me how did it affect their lives in any manner at all? The answer is it doesn’t and it never will.
The Afghan women have my sympathies for their situation. But the Indian Government is not responsible for their welfare. The foremost duty of the Indian Government is to protect and serve its own citizens. That is precisely what the Indian Government is doing by engaging the Afghan Government.
The United States of America is also engaging the Taliban Government in Afghanistan for their own interests. They have abandoned their fever dreams of ushering in a cultural revolution in the country. At the end of the day, its up to the Afghan Government to decide the cultural mores they wish to implement on their citizens. Influencing their cultural norms should be the least of our concerns. We have bigger things to worry about.
The Taliban Press Conference: Unending Hypocrisy
The glaring hypocrisy in all of this is that the Indian Political Parties making the most noise about this are the same ones that had opposed the banning of the Triple Talaq. In India, these political parties openly support the most ultra-orthodox elements of Islamic society.
The INC and RJD support elements in India that practice a version of Islam not to different from the Taliban’s. Yet, they target the Indian Government over a press conference they had nothing to do with at all. These are the same political parties that have been supporting Palestine endlessly. What brand of Islam do the Palestinians follow? Is it the liberal progressive variant? I highly doubt that.
Needless to say, if tomorrow, an orthodox Indian Islamic group issues a fatwa barring women from studying in Madrassas, these very same political parties will rush to their defence. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) told the Supreme Court that women are free to enter Mosques for prayer provided that there is no intermingling of the sexes in common areas.
Most Mosques in India do not have separate sections for men and women. Thus, in effect, Indian women cannot enter Mosques to pray. How many Indian political parties have supported Muslim women in this regard? A Muslim girl can marry right after attaining puberty. Recently, a Supreme Court dismissed the NCPCR’s plea challenging the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s order declaring that a 16 year old Muslim girl could marry under Islamic Law. How many Indian political parties opposed that?
All of this just proves that the controversy surrounding the Taliban Press Conference is meaningless drama. Indeed, it’s just manufactured outrage. It’s news for a day and the world will carry on as usual like it always has.
