Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent representations he has made to his Afghan counterpart on the treatment of women and girls in that country. .

Ministers do not engage with the Taliban. Officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press Taliban acting ministers to reverse their harmful policies on women and girls. In January, FCDO officials raised the treatment of women and girls with Taliban acting ministers during a visit to Kabul.

We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's edicts that restrict the rights of women and girls, including through the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council resolutions and public statements. We will continue to work with the international community, including during UN led talks this month, to press the Taliban to reverse course.