Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the rights of Afghan women and girls.

The UK Government condemns the Taliban's inhuman repression of Afghan women and girls. We are working with international partners to maintain collective pressure to press the Taliban to respect the human rights of women and girls. While in New York in January, I publicly demonstrated my support for Afghan women and girls at the UN, ahead of the International Day of Education on 24 January. The UK Government is committed that at least 50 percent of Afghans reached by UK aid are women and girls.