No Women Allowed: How The Taliban Transported Its Misogyny To India

The Taliban’s contempt for women is well known. Since August 2021, the cleric-led regime has nearly banished women from public spaces. In Delhi, Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, now visiting India, barred Indian journalists from his news conference. The incident caused outrage in the capital.

The anger forced the Ministry of External Affairs to respond. On Saturday, the Ministry issued a statement saying it had nothing to do with the invitees. Foreign embassies are independent and operate beyond the host country's diktats.

The Opposition has slammed the government, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeting : “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. In our country, women have the right to equal participation in every space. Your silence in the face of such discrimination exposes the emptiness of your slogans on Nari Shakti.”

India  had in the past  steadfastly refused to have any dealings with the Taliban, but changed its stance on strategic  and realpolitik considerations. The fact that the Taliban had fallen out of Pakistan, responsible for creating and nurturing the group, has played a part in the change.

The visit of the foreign minister Muttaqi, who is under UNSC sanctions, was only possible after India received special permission from the UN Sanctions Committee. His coming marks a turning point in India’s relations with the Taliban regime and a reset in ties with a group New Delhi had consistently opposed in the past. Foreign Minister Subramanyan announced during his meeting with his Afghan counterpart that India has decided to upgrade the “technical mission” in Kabul to a full-fledged embassy. 

Many in India are unhappy over India’s overtures to the Taliban. Women activists, as well as progressives, believe that unless the Taliban gives up its regressive anti-women views, India should keep its distance.

“If anyone expects the Taliban to be gender-friendly, they are living in a fool’s paradise. Their ideology is anti-women. What is shocking is that these views have been allowed on Indian soil. For me, mending relations with a group like the Taliban is highly problematic,” says activist Shabnam Hashmi.

The Taliban’s contempt for women is long evident at home. But when this bias appears in a New Delhi press conference, it raises questions about India’s response.  

“It is shocking and unacceptable. Our Constitutional values of gender justice and gender equality do not permit such bias. Instead, we are following the misogyny of the Taliban and allowing them to do so on our soil. When we do this, where is the difference between us and the Taliban?” asks Zakia Soman, one of the petitioners demanding a ban on triple talaq, and vocal on the issue of women’s rights. 

“It is extremely unfortunate that the Afghan embassy officials did not allow women journalists to enter the premises, saying their names were not on the list. This was obviously a ploy to stop them. It is a reflection of how women are treated in Afghanistan. But that they were allowed to have their way in India is a shame,” says  Kirti Singh of the All India Democratic Women’s Association.