India Hosts Taliban, Silences Women

India Hosts Taliban, Silences Women

When the Taliban acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi came to New Delhi in October 2025, the visit was meant to be a diplomatic engagement. It was a sign that India was keeping channels open with every Kabul government. But what happened during that trip ended up revealing something much deeper and uglier.

Thus, on Indian soil, in the capital of a country that takes pride in being the “world’s largest democracy,” an openly misogynistic regime reenacted its gender apartheid, and India let it happen deliberately.

A National Embarrassment in Broad Daylight

Moving forward, for Indian reporters like Smita Sharma, Suhasini Haidar, and Poulomi Saha, the ban was personal and professional insult rolled into one whole. So, the fact that all this unfolded in New Delhi, under the watch of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, made it even more humiliating.
People called it as a betrayal of India’s own values, while they discussed the issue on social media. Freedom of the press, equality before the law, and dignity of women all were tossed aside, because the Taliban does not believe that women should be a part of public life. Adding insult to injury, instead of stepping in or condemning it, the government said nothing. Thus, silence became complicity.

The Silence That Spoke Louder Than Words

Moreover, when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stood beside Muttaqi later that week, there was not even a single mention of Afghan women. There was no acknowledgment of their suffering, and no call for their education or jobs. Besides, this omission was not accidental. India has been walking a tightrope since the Taliban takeover in 2021, and trying to protect its interests without alienating the regime. However, this time the balancing act crossed a line. In the name of “pragmatism,” the government chose to ignore what the Taliban stands for. Hence, diplomacy does not mean to surrender morally, yet this is what it looked like.

Red Carpet for Repression

Additionally, Muttaqi was received with official protocol, security escorts, and a diplomatic red carpet. This is hard to square that image with the one that India projects internationally. It portrays itself as a country celebrating “Nari Shakti” and women-led development. So, here one thinks about the contradiction. India loves to highlight its women scientists, athletes, and entrepreneurs. Alternately, here it was rolling out hospitality for the men who banned girls from classrooms and women from work.

Thus, it is not only turning a blind eye to Afghan women’s plight, but is also betraying the very ideals it claims to uphold.

Outrage and Discomfort at Home

Similarly, Indian journalists, civil society voices, and even some diplomats spoke out against what happened. They asked a simple question that how can a Taliban press event excluding women even be allowed in a democracy like India. It was not just a question of optics. But this hits a nerve about what India’s foreign policy is becoming. So, now foreign policy is less about principles, and more about power. People felt that this government’s version of “realism” was really just a polite word for moral compromise.
Even those who understand the need to talk to difficult regimes found this episode a hard and daunting one. Thus, if India cannot stand up for women’s rights in its own capital, what moral ground does it have to lecture anyone else in the region or world at large.

Pragmatism or Moral Capitulation?

Furthermore, there is a difference between engagement and endorsement. India could have hosted the Taliban, and still drawn red lines by publicly mentioning Afghan women, or making access for all journalists as non-negotiable. But none of this happened.
Instead, the government’s quiet acceptance of the Taliban’s behavior sent the message that rights and principles are optional. That is not “strategic pragmatism”, but a moral drift. However, the truth is that real diplomacy is not about bending your values to fit someone else’s. But it is about knowing where one should not bend at all.

The Optics Abroad

Besides, India’s global image was tarnished too. The same country that speaks at G20 forums about women’s empowerment was seen legitimizing a regime which has erased women from public life. Similarly, allies who see India as a democratic counterweight in the region could not miss the irony. This is the kind of double standard which is unmatchable. On one hand, India is loud when it is politically convenient. On the other, the country is silent when it is not suitable for them. That is how India looked to the world this week.

Afghan Women Watching in Pain

On top of that, for Afghan women journalists, teachers, and activists all this happening was heartbreaking. Many of them once saw India as a supporter of their struggle for education and freedom. To witness all this that Taliban were welcomed with ceremony in Delhi, while their own voices remain silenced back at home, was felt like betrayal from a friend. They have lost almost everything under Taliban rule. Thus, watching these actions of India must have been devastating for them.

The Cost of Hypocrisy

Moreover, the Modi government often talks about moral leadership and India’s “civilizational values.” But values are not worth much if they vanish when politics get uncomfortable. The Taliban’s visit, and the decision of India to stay silent in the face of blatant misogyny, showed how easily those values are traded away.
This was not only a diplomatic misstep, but morals were missing too. So, this was a reminder that in chasing influence, India is losing the very principles that once gave its voice a considerable weight in the world.

A Choice for the Future

Lastly, India does not have to isolate the Taliban to take a stand. It just needs to make sure a kind of engagement which does not look like endorsement. It means setting boundaries is not weakness, but is integrity.
Hence, if India wants to be taken seriously as a defender of democracy and women’s rights, the country must start acting like it, even when it is inconvenient. This is because the measure of a country’s strength is not who it hosts, but what it refuses to tolerate. This visit will be remembered not for what the Taliban said, but for who was not allowed to speak. They include both Afghan women and Indian women. Thus, they were the ones who deserved the mic the most.