(MENAFN- Live Mint) President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani, on Saturday, claimed that“wherever there is a madrassa in the world, the same things are taught,” and said“what is happening with women in Afghanistan is wrong.” His comments come amid Afghan FM Muttaqi's visit to Darul Uloom Deoband and the controversy over his presser in Delhi.

Under the 'Taliban 2.0' regime that seized control in Afghanistan in August 2021, Afghan women and girls face what the UN calls the 'most severe women's rights crisis in the world.'

Maulana Arshad Madani's comments come amid the Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's visit to the Darul Uloom Deoband seminar , a prominent Islamic seminary located in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur. He is on a six-day visit to India.

Saharanpur: Afghanistan's Foreign Affairs Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi meets Maulana Arshad Madani at Darul Uloom Deoband, in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (PTI Photo)(PTI10_11_2025_000258A)

Speaking about the Afghan FM's visit, Madani told reporters that both leaders did not speak about the 'ban on education for women in Afghanistan,' and that“it was just a coincidence” that no women journalists were present at Muttaqi's presser in Delhi on Friday.

What happened at Afghan FM Muttaqi's presser?

The press conference, organised at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi following bilateral talks between EAM S Jaishankar and Muttaqi, drew widespread criticism after women journalists claimed they were denied entry.

Multiple political leaders – from Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to P Chidambaram reacted sharply to the claims – with Gandhi calling it“an insult to India's women journalists.”

On Saturday, the MEA issued a statement, saying that“it had no involvement in the press interaction held yesterday by the Afghan FM.”

Responding to the criticism, an Afghan Taliban spokesperson clarified that the absence of female journalists at the press conference was unintentional , mentioned a report by News 18.

What did the Taliban say?

The Afghan Taliban spokesperson reportedly said that Muttaqi regularly engages with women journalists at his office in Kabul.

“Muttaqi meets women in his office in Kabul regularly. I myself do interviews with female journalists," the spokesperson told News18.

Situation of women in Afghanistan

It has been four years since the Taliban seized control in Afghanistan in 2021. Rather than a more moderate approach, the Taliban have systematically expanded and intensified their restrictions on women's lives.

What is happening with women in Afghanistan is wrong.

According to the United Nations, the de facto authorities (DFA) have issued dozens of directives stripping women and girls of their rights – from education and work to their movement and public decision-making. Girls are banned from secondary school. Women are barred from universities, most jobs, and public spaces such as parks, gyms, and sports clubs.

The Taliban minister's visit, which began on October 9 and will continue until October 16, marks the first high-level delegation from Kabul to India since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

MENAFN11102025007365015876ID1110181799