Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials of the UK Mission to Afghanistan have asked the Taliban to reconsider its decision to ban women from accessing midwifery education.

The UK is deeply concerned at reports of a ban on women accessing medical training in Afghanistan, including midwifery education. We strongly condemn the decision and officials from the Doha-based UK Mission to Afghanistan have met with Taliban leaders to urge them to reverse this decision. We have made clear that this is yet another affront to girls' right to education and will threaten the lives of countless women and girls who will be denied critical medical care, as well as their children. Officials continue to press the Taliban on human rights abuses in Afghanistan.