Bangladeshi Writer: Taliban Do Not See Women as Human Beings

Kokcha News Agency – Taslima Nasrin, a Bangladeshi writer who has been in exile since 1994, has condemned Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi for barring female journalists from attending a press conference in New Delhi. Nasrin stated, “They refuse to grant women human rights because they do not see women as human beings.”

She also criticized the male journalists present at the event, saying, “If they had a conscience, they should have left the room.”

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Nasrin wrote, “Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s Foreign Minister, has come to India and held a press conference, but no female journalists were allowed. The Taliban expect women to stay at home, have children, and serve their families. These misogynistic men do not want to see women in any public space.”

Nasrin emphasized, “A government built on vile misogyny is a barbaric government, and no civilized nation should recognize it.”

Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement clarifying that the Indian government had no role in organizing the press conference.

The press conference followed bilateral talks between Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Muttaqi at the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi, and only male journalists were allowed to attend.

During the conference, Muttaqi discussed regional issues, including India-Afghanistan relations, humanitarian aid, trade routes, and security cooperation, but female journalists were barred from covering the event.

The exclusion of female journalists has sparked widespread political outrage in India.

P. Chidambaram, a leader of the Indian National Congress, reacted to the incident, saying, “The male journalists should have left the room when they realized their female colleagues were excluded.”

Muttaqi’s visit to India, which lasts until October 16, marks the first high-level Taliban delegation to India since their return to power in August 2021.