Female journalists at the Afghan Foreign Minister’s press conference? What is the truth behind the image circulating?

During Afghanistan’s visit to India, the exclusion of women journalists from a press conference held in Delhi by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttahida Qadri sparked controversy. The press conference held at the Afghan Embassy in Delhi on October 10, 2025, was only for male journalists. However, a picture is going viral on social media claiming that women were also present at the press conference. However, the claim is misleading.

Claim:

An X (formerly Twitter) Squint Neon on October 12, 2025, shared a photo with the caption that suggest that that women participated in the press conference of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister and that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are criticizing it without verifying it.The same photo was also posted on several other X accounts such as @RohitKu57792064 , Jasaraj Godara recently.

The users on Facebook also shared the viral image.

Here are the facts:

We performed a reverse image search on the viral photo and found that Vivekananda International Foundation, an organization affiliated with the RSS, shared the image on their X account on October 10, 2025.

The caption reads,“Highlights from today’s interaction at the VIF with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, H.E. Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. The conversation underscored the deep economic, historical, cultural, and civilizational ties between the two countries. His mention of Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwala struck a poignant chord with the audience.(sic).” The audience includes women.

However, the controversy arose when female journalists were excluded from Muttahiki’s press conference held at the Afghan embassy. National and international media outlets such as The Hindu, BBC have also reported it. Following an outrage, another press conference was held at the Afghan Embassy on October 12, including female journalists. WalkIt was also expensive. The Afghan Foreign Minister later explained that the exclusion of female journalists from the October 10 press conference was unintentional and was a technical issue.

From the analysis, it is clear that the propaganda that female journalists participated in the press conference held by the Afghan Foreign Minister on October 10 is not factual.