Afghanistan

Debate between Justine Greening and Sarah Newton

Thursday 17th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

That is a specific project that for some reason is not in my briefing, but I will write to the hon. Gentleman and give him an update on progress.

[Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that we must do all we can ahead of next year’s important provisional and presidential elections to support the election commission to register voters, particularly women?

[Justine Greening]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. We are working in three areas: combating fraud, which we know was a feature of previous elections, registration and ensuring that women go out and vote. We are working hand in hand with the United Nations Development Programme on the latter.

UK’s Development Work (Girls and Women)

Debate between Justine Greening and Sarah Newton

Thursday 7th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

With the support of DFID, ShelterBox, a very good charity based in Cornwall, is delivering practical support to refugees in Syria and Lebanon. What more can be done to support the women and girls who are fleeing from the dreadful atrocities in Syria—particularly the sexual violence that is being committed against them?

[Justine Greening]

There are a number of things. First, we must ensure that we have human rights monitors who are able to go into Syria so that we can find out for ourselves what is happening on the ground. Secondly, many of the women who are leaving are by that stage the head of their household as their husbands are no longer with them, and we must ensure that they get not only the care, often medical care, that they need but counselling for the trauma that they—and, often, their children—have gone through in order to make it to the refugee camps.