WHEN a visiting foreign guest denies women access to a press event in India, it is not merely a diplomatic oversight — it is a moral failure witnessed in real time.

The recent exclusion of women journalists from a press interaction with the Afghan foreign minister in New Delhi has triggered rightful outrage. Yet the louder question is not what the Taliban did, but what India and its male journalists did not do.

For a nation that prides itself on democracy, equality, and a free press, allowing such an exclusion to unfold on its soil without objection is deeply unsettling. India is not a passive venue for visiting delegations to impose their values; it is a sovereign state whose institutions are expected to uphold its constitutional ethos, irrespective of who stands across the table.

The mere statement that the event was not coordinated by Indian authorities does not absolve responsibility. When discrimination happens in India — in any form, at any forum — silence becomes complicity.

It is no surprise that the Taliban, guided by an interpretation of law that has systematically erased women from public life, chose to exclude women journalists. What shocks the conscience is the lack of resistance. Why did those present not walk out? Why did the government not intervene or condemn it instantly?

The recent exclusion of women journalists from a press interaction with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has triggered rightful outrage

This was not just an affront to female journalists; it was a symbolic shrinking of India’s democratic space. True equality demands more than rhetoric — it requires courage to confront bias even when it arrives dressed in diplomatic decorum.

The moment we stay silent, prejudice gains legitimacy. Every nation’s moral standing is measured not by what it preaches abroad but by what it tolerates within. India has often spoken about women’s empowerment on global platforms, showcasing women leadership in politics, business, and media. Yet, at that moment in Delhi, those lofty ideals were quietly pushed aside.

The image of male reporters proceeding with the press event while their women colleagues were turned away will remain a painful metaphor of power unchallenged, and principle unasserted. Diplomacy often demands tact, but never at the cost of dignity.

It is one thing to engage the Taliban in pragmatic dialogue; it is quite another to accommodate their prejudices within Indian territory. The distinction matters, for it defines the line between strategic engagement and moral surrender. India missed an opportunity to draw that line clearly.

By allowing such exclusion to proceed, the state — and those who accepted it in silence — allowed a brief yet powerful erosion of the values the Indian Constitution enshrines. If there is a lesson here, it is not only for the government but for all who witnessed the event without protest.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2025