Girls’ Education Challenge

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

DfID constantly monitors its programmes, including these. As I mentioned before, it is looking for results to be secured, which, as I said, means making sure that there is high-quality education and that children attend all the way through so that they reach the next stage.

[Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (LD)]

My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that in Afghanistan girls are not allowed to know their father—their basic heritage? Given that deliberate depth of ignorance in the female sex in Afghanistan, and since the UK will have no locus following our withdrawal, how does the noble Baroness feel that we can influence such a tragic and miserable situation through educational means?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is right that there are many challenges in Afghanistan; but one of the encouraging things over the past few years has been the extension of the education of girls and women and their absolute determination that that is going to continue. That will help to underpin what DfID is doing in this area.