Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan following the recent introduction of the law on "the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" and the ban on them training in any medical capacity.

The Government is deeply concerned at reports of a ban on women accessing medical training in Afghanistan and have repeatedly and strongly condemned Taliban restrictions on women and girls. Officials have directly pressed the Taliban to reverse their repressive so-called 'vice and virtue' law and have been raising the issue of the Taliban ban on women accessing medical education and training in Afghanistan since 4 December. We consider the Taliban's actions to be short-sighted and a grotesque backwards-step. Our ongoing support to those Afghans most in need is more essential than ever, and we remain committed that at least 50% of those reached by UK aid are women and girls.