Rahul Gandhi Slams Modi Over Exclusion of Women Journalists from Afghan Minister’s Presser
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the absence of women journalists at Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s press conference, saying the prime minister was telling every woman in India that she was “too weak to stand up to them” by allowing women writers to be “excluded” from a public forum. Gandhi also criticized Modi’s silence in the face of such discrimination as the “emptiness” of his slogans about Nari Shakti.
In a post on X, Gandhi said: “Mr Modi, when you allow women journalists to be excluded from a public forum, you are telling every woman in India that you are too weak to stand up to them.”
“Women have the right to equal participation in every field in our country. Your silence in the face of such discrimination reveals the futility of your slogans about Nari Shakti,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. he said.
While the attendance at Muttaki’s press conference on Friday was limited to a handful of reporters, female journalists drew attention with their absence. Muttaqi held the interaction at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, hours after holding wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
It was learned that the decision to invite journalists to media interaction was taken by Taliban officials accompanying the foreign minister. People familiar with the matter said that the Indian side suggested to the Afghan side that women journalists should be among the guests at the event. The Taliban regime in Kabul has faced serious criticism from various countries as well as global organizations such as the United Nations for restricting the rights of women in Afghanistan.
