No purdah, curtains: Darul Uloom on women journalists' exclusion claim
Darul Uloom Deoband has pushed back against claims that women journalists were kept out of Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's visit.
Their spokesperson, Ashraf Usmani, explained the event was canceled last minute because of crowd and security worries—not because of gender.
This comes after criticism over the lack of women reporters at a Taliban-run press conference in New Delhi the day before.
Usmani's clarification
Usmani clarified that women journalists did attend the Deoband event, with everyone seated together and no purdah or curtains in place.
He emphasized that there were no restrictions based on gender.
India's Ministry of External Affairs also said it didn't organize the Delhi press meet, distancing itself from the controversy after opposition leaders called the absence of women journalists "an insult."
Who is Ashraf Usmani?
Ashraf Usmani is the Public Relations Officer at Darul Uloom Deoband and handled media for the event.