Hubballi (Karnataka) [India], October 12 : Karnataka Minister HK Patil condemned the absence of women journalists at Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's press conference, calling it a "violation of human rights."
Patil emphasised that any attempt to restrict women journalists from attending or reporting on such events is unacceptable.
"This is totally wrong. It is a violation of human rights...Anybody who has stopped them (women journalists) from attending, or even if the minister has given directions of that sort, he/she should be punished..." Patil said while speaking to the media.
This comes after India women journalists were allegedly not allowed to attend a press conference by Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi on Friday.
Muttaqui is on a week-long visit to India, beginning from October 9 till October 16. This is the first high-level delegation from Kabul to India since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also condemned the absence, calling it "very unfortunate" and reflective of the Taliban mindset.
"It is very unfortunate. Everyone knows what kind of Taliban mindset it is. Atrocities are being committed against women in Afghanistan. I had said yesterday as well that whenever our Foreign Minister meets them, he should raise the issue of what is happening to the women there... What happened to the female journalists yesterday happened in the Afghan Embassy," she said.
Chaturvedi urged the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to address the issue by raising concerns about women's treatment in Afghanistan and communicating to the Taliban that such actions contradict India's constitutional values of press freedom and gender equality.
"It may not be under MEA's control, but I hope that MEA takes cognisance of this and writes a letter to the Taliban to address it, stating that the practices and norms in our country are in accordance with our Constitution. We also have freedom of the press and equality. Women have been given equal status. Keeping them out in this manner is very shameful," she added.