AIMIM Chief Assaduddin Owaisi said that “girls in India are not allowed to wear hijab” when asked about female journalists being barred from attending a press conference of the Afghan Minister at the embassy in New Delhi.
“Here in India, girls aren’t allowed to wear the hijab – you’re not talking about that,” he told a reporter while making his way to the car.
[img=1px,1px]https://data.indianexpress.com/election2019/track_1x1.jpg[/img]ALSO READ‘Ironic’: Painting of Bamiyan Buddha statues behind Afghan Minister during press conference goes viral
Owaisi also said that India should establish “full-fledged diplomatic” relations with Kabul, adding that merely talking to them doesn’t serve a purpose. In an interview with ANI, he recalled his 2016 speech in the parliament where he said that “Taliban would come” and that India should “talk to them”. He added that at the time he faced backlash for his suggestions, but today, their Foreign Minister is in India.
‘They don’t consider women as human’: Taslima Nasreen
Taslima Nasreen also reacted to the Afghanistan Minister’s presser in Delhi. She criticised the Taliban for denying women basic human rights, saying they “refuse to grant women human rights because they do not consider women to be human”. Their remarks come in the wake of a press conference held by Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister at the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi, from which female journalists were barred.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Nasreen, who escaped Bangladesh in 1994, said, “The Afghan Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has come to India and held a press conference. However, he did not allow any female journalists to attend.”
She then tried to “explain” the reason behind this: “In Islam as practised by the Taliban, women are expected only to stay at home, bear children, and serve their husbands and children. These misogynistic men do not want to see women anywhere outside the home-not in schools, not in workplaces.”
ALSO READ‘PM Modi, please clarify’: Oppn fumes over women journalist’s exclusion from Afghan minister’s presser; MEA responds
The 63-year-old went on to slam the male journalist who continued sitting in the room where the press conference was taking place instead of walking out despite knowing that their female colleagues had been stopped at the gate.
“If the male journalists had any conscience, they would have walked out of the press conference,” she expressed, before adding, “A state built on vile misogyny is a barbaric state-and no civilised nation should recognise it.”
The Afghan Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has come to India and held a press conference. However, he did not allow any female journalists to attend. In Islam as practiced by the Taliban, women are expected only to stay at home, bear children, and serve their husbands and…
— taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) October 11, 2025 Afghanistan minister’s India visit
Taliban minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is on a six-day visit to India – the first by any senior minister since the group came to power in 2021. He met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House, where Jaishankar stressed the need for both nations to “coordinate efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations” and appreciated Afghanistan for expressing solidarity with India following the Pahalgam terror attack.
ALSO READ‘We must combat terrorism,’ Jaishankar meets Afghan FM, announces plan to reopen Indian Embassy in Kabul
Jaishankar also announced that India would upgrade its existing “technical mission” in Kabul to a fully functioning embassy, four years after it was shut down following the Taliban’s takeover.
On Saturday, Muttaqi visited Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, where he attended a scholarly session on Hadith led by Maulana Nomani. After completing the study session, Muttaqi received the Hadith Sanad (certificate of authority), earning him the title “Qasmi”, which signifies an academic affiliation with the seminary. He can now formally write his name as Maulana Amir Khan Muttaqi Qasmi.
On Sunday, the Afghan foreign minister will travel to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. He is in India till October 16. |
