Rights of Women and Girls: Afghanistan

Calvin Bailey Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alice Macdonald]

I entirely agree: it is a war on women, and we must make clear that we will not tolerate it.

There have been some welcome moves, including the announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in January last year that he had applied to the Court for arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders. I am also pleased that the UK is supporting the case to hold the Taliban accountable for violations of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women at the International Court of Justice.

Will the Minister also tell the House how we will use our role at the UN and on the Security Council to demand accountability? As a witness said at the United Nations Security Council meeting in March last year, if impunity is the disease, accountability is the only antidote.

I also make a broader plea to Members and to the media: we must keep attention on what is happening in Afghanistan. As I have said, women have told me that they feel forgotten and that the world has turned its back. We must do whatever little we can to show that we have not.

Thirdly and finally, the Minister will know that 2025 marked 20 years since the landmark agreement of resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, yet two decades on we are failing to live up to its promise. Afghanistan is a focus country for the UK, as is stated in the current national action plan for women, peace and security. We therefore have a particular responsibility for the peace and rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Will the Minister give an update on how we are delivering that crucial plan? It is also imperative that women be at the table for any talks. We must always call for that, and we must lead by example by ensuring that all our delegations include women at the table.

The situation for women and girls in Afghanistan is devastating, but we must not give up. Afghan women certainly are not giving up. They are determined and inspiring, and despite the challenges that they face, they are still finding ways to run businesses and work on the frontlines. We cannot abandon them. We must play our role as a party—now in government—that has always championed women’s rights at home and abroad.

[Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for her important and powerful speech and for giving voice to the plight of Afghan women. Does she agree that recognition of gender apartheid is an essential part of our foreign policy? After four years of direct engagement with the Taliban, it is perhaps the only way we can start shifting the debate.

[Alice Macdonald]

I agree, and I welcome my hon. Friend’s support. Gender apartheid speaks to the systemic dismantling of a whole system of women’s rights, not individual cases of persecution. We should listen to the people who are calling for this, because it is a unifying call from many Afghan women.

If we turn our back on this crisis—on the gender apartheid unfolding in Afghanistan—we are failing not only Afghan women, but women everywhere. As Baroness Harman wrote recently,

“it is clear that we will not achieve global equality without tackling the systematic oppression of Afghan women and girls. The importance of this cannot be underestimated, not just for Afghan women, but for the hard-won rights and freedoms of women around the world.”

This is not just a moral issue. It is also a security issue, because we know that gender equality is essential for lasting and sustainable peace. We must hold true to our values, we must display them proudly as a sign of hope for the oppressed across the world, and we must do everything we can to uphold the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.