Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support women and girls in Afghanistan with (a) education, (b) hunger and nutrition and (c) tackling gender violence.

The Government has repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict the rights of women and girls. We have disbursed £229 million in aid for Afghanistan since April 2022, and are committed to at that at least 50 per cent of those we reach with our aid, should be reaching women and girls. UK aid delivers life-saving support for women and girls by providing emergency food, shelter, nutrition, primary healthcare and support to tackle gender-based violence. We continue to support the delivery of education, including through the UN and other delivery partners. On 19 January, the Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, met Afghan women to ensure we were responding to their needs.