In a brazen display of misogyny which stands in complete defiance of the ideals of gender equality, the Taliban’s true colors were on display again, this time during Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's visit to India on October 10, 2025. It was the first by a Taliban official since they captured Kabul in 2021. During his media briefing at the Afghan embassy in Delhi, women journalists were explicitly barred from attending it. Reports suggest that 17 outlets were invited and all were represented by men while female reporters were forced to linger futilely at the gates. It was not an isolated incident. Rather, it has shown a poignant reflection of the Taliban's regressive ideology which has attempted to systematically erase women from public life in their country and stifles global discourse on their deteriorating condition. The Taliban's contempt for women's rights is no secret. Since seizing Kabul, they have imposed draconian edicts: banning girls from secondary education, restricting women from work and travel without male guardians, and enforcing veils that symbolize subjugation rather than choice. Muttaqi's exclusion of women journalists in a democratic country that champions gender equality exposes his regime's hypocrisy. This incident demands unequivocal condemnation from the all who are concerned about women rights. As a democratic country, we should have insisted on inclusive protocols, but, regardless, the onus lies squarely on the Taliban. In the past, their actions have perpetuated a cycle of oppression that has devastated Afghanistan where maternal mortality rates have soared, female literacy plummeted and economic despair deepened in recent years. The Taliban’s bad governance and disregard for women’s rights has echoed at the UN. And recognition without reform is nothing short of complicity. A diplomat seeking legitimacy on the world stage showing unwillingness to face scrutiny from half of humanity is a poor statement. Instead of diplomacy; it's a farce and a calculated insult to press freedom and gender equity. The world must rally to amplify Afghan women's voices and out conditions on aid linking them to verifiable human rights advances. This visit by the senior Taliban official was fueled by isolationist bravado and tacit support from regional powers. Seen against the backdrop of this exclusion of women journalists, Muttaqi’s visit for talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on stability and aid reeks of opportunism. Stability cannot be asked on the disregard for half of humanity. It has shown that the Taliban are not reformers but only relics of a barbaric past. By denying women journalists entry, the Taliban have not only managed to muzzle diverse voices but also undermined the very essence of journalism which speaks of holding power accountable without prejudice.