Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Wollaston Excerpts

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am glad the right hon. Gentleman reminded us of the name of his candidate, because I think it had escaped many of us in the House. I am happy to confirm the importance of all our police officers, including PCSOs, in keeping our streets safe.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Simon Stevens has described social care funding as “unresolved business” from the spending review. Does the Secretary of State agree with him that it is time for a fundamental rethink about how we fund social care in the future?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend, who has a deep and long-standing interest in the matter, will know that the funding of adult care needs to be done jointly between local councils and the NHS. The Health Secretary and I are working very closely to make sure that the funds that the Chancellor has made available are put to good use so that our elderly people are properly cared for, whether they are in the charge of councils or in our hospitals.

Security of Women in Afghanistan

Sarah Wollaston Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt (North East Bedfordshire) (Con)]

I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Sir Robert Smith) on introducing the debate and giving the House an opportunity to discuss this matter. As the House knows, for two years I had the privilege of being the Minister responsible for Afghanistan in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I pay tribute to all those I worked with at the time who were involved with Afghanistan. The House rightly pays tribute regularly to our armed forces for the extraordinary work they do, but it is also important to remember the contribution made by civilians from this country who go out to Afghanistan to engage locally in some of the many complex issues that have been mentioned and to work with different international organisations. I also want to pay tribute to experienced parliamentarians. Once again this debate is enlightened by colleagues who have been to Afghanistan and met those engaged in some of the difficulties we are talking about.

When I become the Minister with responsibility for Afghanistan, I was clear from the beginning that the development of women in society and the importance of maintaining the progress that had been made was central to many organisations that are campaigning for, and worried about, the position of women. I pay tribute to Amnesty and other organisations that have done so much work in that respect, but they were always pushing at an open door. I want to make it clear to the House how central the role of women in Afghanistan was to the development of policy, within both the FCO and DFID, right through the period when I was involved and beyond.

When the Foreign Secretary published the United Kingdom’s national action plan in response to UN Security Council resolution 1325 in relation to the development of societies post conflict, he said:

“No lasting peace can be achieved after conflict unless the needs of women are met—not only justice for the victims of crimes of war, but their active involvement in creating a society in which their rights are respected and their voices are heard.”

I pay tribute to the Foreign Secretary, who has been quite remarkable—I am grateful to the hon. Member for East Lothian (Fiona O'Donnell) for what she said about this—in his dedication to the rights of women and his concern about the use of conflict to damage women. He has been quite exceptional in that regard. I know from personal experience how much he was concerned about Afghanistan and how much support he gave me and others in our work.

That there has been progress in Afghanistan since 2001 is clear—it has been documented by other Members, so I will not detain the House long on this—with regard to health, education, justice and participation. Women have seen their circumstances improve. Some 3 million girls are now in education and there are now women teachers, whereas there were not before. To some extent, that helps to contradict the sense, which some portray, that it is a society that it is impossible to change. If it were impossible for it to change, those brave women would not have come forward, which is another reason why they deserve support.

We understand very well that there are different cultures in different societies, but we have a culture too. Our culture and our tradition in this country is to stand up for what we think is right and to say very clearly, even though value judgments are involved, when we think something is wrong. The subjugation and terrorisation of women is wrong. We know, however, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Gordon (Sir Malcolm Bruce) said, that that cannot be done from the Chamber of a Parliament thousands of miles away. It needs to be done by working with those on the ground. Again, the extraordinary work that has been done in capacity building and support over recent years has, I believe, made a significant difference and will continue to do so.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Does he agree that we should also pay tribute to voluntary organisations such as Afghan Connection, which is on the ground in areas such as north-east Afghanistan and putting in place education and training for teachers?

[Alistair Burt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I could name a number of different organisations—I will mention one in a moment. Men and women are going out from this country to do extraordinary work with people in Afghanistan and to support the bravery of women and others there who are working for change.

I remember on my first visit to Afghanistan meeting a group of women civil society activists and being told straightforwardly, “If you ask women in our society whether life has changed for the better since 2001, between 60% and 70% will say yes. But if you ask how many are afraid for the future, 99% will say yes.” The constant refrain, particularly as we got closer to naming a date when the United Kingdom’s armed forces would withdraw—2014—was, “Are you all going? Are the lights going out?” I remember being very committed to saying, on behalf of the Government, “Absolutely not. People are staying and the commitment to Afghanistan will remain.”

It is very important to recognise that that is done in conjunction and co-operation with brave individuals who are there. I could name many, but let me refer to just two or three in the short time available. Habiba Sarabi, who was mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for Gordon, is a remarkable woman who made her name working on women’s literacy, before joining the Government in 2004 after the Taliban had gone. She is now the governor of Bamiyan province. Sometimes the media can present the image that it is all about Helmand, but it is not. There are places where things are happening and women are engaged in society and want to remain engaged. She is a remarkable woman.

Fawzia Koofi, a member of Parliament whom I have met on more than one occasion, is an outstandingly brave woman. When she was a baby, her mother left her outside to die in the Afghan sun because she did not want another daughter in the house. She was rescued after a few hours, burnt almost to a cinder. From that experience she developed an extraordinary attitude to life and a determination to fight for the rights of women. She was recently interviewed and said a few things—this follows what other Members have said—about the current difficulties. She said:

“It’s becoming harder to work on women’s issues. Conservative colleagues are more confident to open their mouths… But there is more awareness among women to stand by themselves and defend their rights… You cannot talk about women’s education, women’s economic empowerment and social empowerment without their political participation. So for any young woman I would encourage them to have the courage to put herself forward.”

With examples like Fawzia to follow, young women can do just that.

I want to mention two individuals from the United Kingdom. The first is Linda Norgrove. I was involved in the hostage crisis when Linda was kidnapped. She subsequently died in an attempt to free her in October 2010. I attended her funeral and remember what a remarkable occasion it was, as people remembered what she had done. She worked with widows, in particular, in eastern Afghanistan. Her parents have set up a foundation in her memory, another one of those organisations that work to remember a remarkable person from this country who lost their life because of their commitment to the women of Afghanistan. She managed a team of some 500 staff who moved from district to district in eastern Afghanistan, working with communities to implement projects in conjunction with local people. That reinforces the point that it is not a question of imposing values from outside; it is about working with others there who want to make a success of things. The second individual I will mention from the United Kingdom is my noble Friend Baroness Hodgson, who has given a lot of time and effort in Afghanistan, and at great personal cost and risk to herself.

Finally, I want to mention Hillary Clinton. I remember my early meetings with Mrs Clinton when she was Secretary of State. It was clear that her commitment to the advancement of women was no political gesture, but firm and determined. We were constantly being asked how we would put into practice what we believed about the future of women in Afghanistan, so she made sure that it was in the Bonn declaration in Tokyo. Her commitment has been remarkable.

As has been said, we know that there are limits to what we can do. Ultimately, it will have to be Afghanistan that enforces what we believe. But our constant engagement, our determination not to leave people alone, the fact that we will continue to talk about it here and the fact that men and women from the United Kingdom will continue to go to Afghanistan to support the people there will be the clearest demonstration we can give that, although things are written in treaties, we will follow them ourselves. We will do all we can to support the brave women who are already working in that country. There is much to achieve, but we have achieved a lot. I am deeply grateful to colleagues for the way in which they have worked on this over a number of years. We owe it to the people of Afghanistan, and to all those from the United Kingdom who have lost their lives there, to work with others for a better future, which they deserve and have been richly working towards.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Wollaston Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The reason the right hon. Gentleman’s leadership is in crisis is that he cannot talk about the big issues. We are getting to the end of a political session when the deficit is down, unemployment is falling, crime is down, welfare is capped, and Abu Qatada is back in Jordan. Every day this country is getting stronger and every day he is getting weaker.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

I know that the Prime Minister will want to thank all the fantastic NHS staff who are rolling up their sleeves and doing everything they can to reduce avoidable early deaths. They are asking the Prime Minister for minimum unit pricing in order to help them do their job and stop people falling into addiction in the first place. Minimum pricing is sitting nervously on death row. Will the Prime Minister give it a reprieve, at least until we know the outcome from the Sheffield report and the Scottish courts?

[The Prime Minister]

First of all, let me say that my hon. Friend fights a strong and noble campaign on this issue that she cares a huge amount about, and I respect that. What we are able to do—[Interruption.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Wollaston Excerpts

Wednesday 13th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That is a matter for the House authorities, not for me. The point I would make, however, is that we have frozen public sector pay at 1%, which we think is fair. The extraordinary thing about Labour’s position is that it supports that 1% increase for public sector workers, but thinks that people on welfare should be getting more than 1%. That seems to be an extraordinary set of priorities.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Whenever alcohol is too cheap, more people die. I know the Prime Minister wants to reduce avoidable early mortality and cut violent crime. Will he meet me so that I can explain to him the evidence base behind minimum pricing and how abandoning this policy would critically undermine the future efforts of those who want to do something about this?

[The Prime Minister]

I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend. We have had many discussions about this issue over the past two and a half years. There is a problem with deeply discounted alcohol in supermarkets and other stores, and I am determined to deal with it. We have published proposals, and are considering the results of the consultation on them, but we must be in no doubt that we must deal with the problem of 20p or 25p cans of lager being available in supermarkets. It has got to change.

UN Women

Sarah Wollaston Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

I should like to take this opportunity to raise the issue of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, and to pay tribute to Wajeha al-Huwaider, a remarkable woman—an author, journalist and human rights campaigner—who has done so much at great personal cost to raise the profile of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.

Women in Saudi have the status of perpetual minors and are denied the most basic human rights. Those abuses stem from the male guardianship system and the strict gender segregation in Saudi. A 2008 Human Rights Watch report spells out what that means in practice. Every Saudi woman must have a male guardian—normally a father or husband—who is tasked with making the most basic decisions on her behalf. An adult woman will sometimes have her son appointed as a guardian.

Fully competent adult women are treated as legal minors, with little or no authority over their lives, bodies or well-being. Every Saudi woman is affected, regardless of her economic or social status. Adult women must obtain permission from their guardian to study, work or travel, and many are denied the right to make even the most basic decisions on behalf of their children. All hon. Members know that whenever women are hidden away, with few rights, the risk of domestic violence is increased, but the male guardianship system makes it almost impossible for those women to gain access to justice even when they are subject to violence.

Officials may—and frequently do—demand a guardian’s consent even when no law or guideline requires it. Many women have been asked to produce written consent from a male guardian for medical treatment. The Saudi authorities insist that the rules are being relaxed, but in practice, I am afraid that they are not. In theory, a woman—only over 45, mind you—may travel without permission. In practice, however, many women without written permission from their guardian are turned away at airports.

Wajeha al-Huwaider first came to international attention on international women’s day in 2008, when—rather shockingly—she drove her car on her own. Subsequently many Saudi women tried to follow her lead, and one woman was seriously injured after being forced off the road. Following that, women were so ostracised for such actions that they ceased.

This was not always the case. Wajeha al-Huwaider described how in her grandmother’s day women had much greater freedoms: they were allowed to work in markets, travel freely and go abroad without permission; there were not the same dress restrictions; and they could divorce and remarry easily without being ostracised. I am afraid, however, that that is no longer the case in Saudi Arabia.

As women in this country and across the world look forward to the Olympics, women in Saudi Arabia are banned from the Olympic team, and have no access to public sport at all. Not only is it impossible for a Saudi woman to participate in a football match, for example, but she is banned from attending one as a spectator. That is truly shocking. From a letter of support from both sides of the House to Wajeha al-Huwaider last year and subsequent correspondence, we know that she is not seeking to westernise Saudi society; she is seeking fundamental human rights. Women must be free to travel, study and access medical care, and to escape from violent and abusive relationships without the consent of a male guardian.

Saudi Arabia has vast wealth and vast opportunities to spread that wealth, but half its population are among the most deprived people in the world. As we move towards the Olympics, I ask the Minister to use this opportunity to highlight the fundamental right of women to take exercise—a right denied to Saudi women. Will she join me in calling for all countries participating in the Olympics to allow women not just to sit in the spectators’ gallery, but to take their rightful place on the starting line?

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Wollaston Excerpts

Wednesday 12th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think the right hon. Gentleman knows that this just is not working. We have ended up with a shadow Chancellor who cannot count, and a Labour leader who does not count. When the right hon. Gentleman was in the Treasury, what did he do when the Government set up the regulatory system that failed? He did nothing. What did he do when they paid out £11 billion in bonuses to bankers? He did nothing. What did he do when they said that they had abolished boom and bust? He did nothing. He was the nothing man at the Treasury and he is the nothing man now that he is trying to run the Labour party.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Brixham coastguard in my constituency has helped more than 2,000 people in the past year. It is earmarked for closure. Will the Prime Minister meet a delegation from Brixham coastguard to hear about the importance of their local knowledge and skills, and to hear how we can avoid a fiasco similar to that of the regionalisation of fire services?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s question. I looked carefully at the time of the announcement at exactly what was proposed for the coastguard. There are proposals to try to put more people on the front line by sharing back-office services and through the way in which the coastguard is co-ordinated. I know that there are very strong local feelings, and I will arrange for her to meet the Transport Secretary to discuss the matter. What is essential is that we have really good coastguard coverage for all of our country.