Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of restrictions on (a) education, (b) work and (c) public life placed on women and girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan; and what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help tackle violations of women's rights and freedom of religion or belief in Afghanistan.

We condemn the Taliban's draconian restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, which seriously affect their everyday lives. These restrictions and those on freedom of religion and belief and hamper Afghanistan's development. We support the initiative to refer the Taliban to the International Court of Justice for violations of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and are working with international partners ways to hold the Taliban accountable, including supporting the UN Special Rapporteur, Richard Bennett. On 20 January, I convened a meeting with senior representatives from the UN and influential countries to underline the importance of addressing Afghanistan's challenges together.