Rights of Women and Girls: Afghanistan

Debate between Alice Macdonald and Wendy Chamberlain

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alice Macdonald]

I thank the hon. Member for that important point. He is right. The Government have set out new proposals on immigration that have a focus on safe routes, and it is important that we stand with female human rights defenders from Afghanistan. Many of them came over here before there were those routes. It was not easy for them, and many people worked incredibly hard to make that happen. I hope that we can have safer passages, and that it can be much clearer how they can be accessed.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

The hon. Member and I are members and officers of the all-party parliamentary group on Afghan women and girls. On the point about education and access to healthcare for women, we hosted a meeting last year with Dr Feroz, a former Health Minister in Afghanistan. He spoke movingly about the case for medical care for Afghan women. One of his key asks was for more support in Afghanistan for women to be trained as midwives to improve maternal outcomes. I am potentially anticipating the Minister’s response, and I know how challenging the situation is, but does the hon. Member agree that we should be able to discuss this from a bilateral perspective?

[Alice Macdonald]

I thank the hon. Member for her contribution, and for everything she has done as chair of the APPG. She has been advocating for Afghan women and girls for a long time. I totally agree, and I will come on to healthcare a bit later in my speech.

To return to education, Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans girls from attending school beyond the primary level, depriving 1.5 million girls of secondary education. Those girls are stripped of their right to learn and their hopes and dreams for the future. On employment, the Taliban have incrementally removed women from professional roles. Instead, they are confined to their home. Over the past three months, we have heard that the Afghan Ministry of Defence and the Afghan army have reportedly prevented women employees from entering the UN compound and its premises across the country, forcing them to work from home, further isolating women and impacting on the effective delivery of aid.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alice Macdonald]

But still those women fight on. Women-led organisations continue to lead the way in so many different respects, delivering humanitarian assistance, supporting survivors and helping communities, all the while navigating life-threatening risks.

I know that the Minister cares deeply about Afghanistan and has huge experience there, and I urge him to continue to do everything possible to stand with Afghan women and girls. I welcome the appointment of Baroness Harman as the UK’s global envoy for women and girls, as she has made Afghan women and girls one of her priorities. Of course we cannot solve the crisis on our own, nor should we, but it is imperative that we play our part and that, importantly, we work with other countries that have influence on the Taliban and in the region.

I want to focus on three specific issues on which I think the Government could act, although they are already acting in many of these areas: aid, accountability and the women, peace and security agenda. Let me begin with aid. Just last week the United Nations launched a $1.7 billion humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan, warning that it will remain one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with 22 million Afghans in need of humanitarian assistance this year; but with major donor countries such as the United States turning away, whether that appeal is heard remains to be seen. Funding cuts have already forced the suspension of 218 gender-based violence service points, affecting more than a million people, mainly women and girls. In the light of our own aid cuts, may I ask the Minister to speak about our commitments to Afghanistan and, in particular, how we are ensuring that the money we spend reaches women and girls and human rights defenders?

[Wendy Chamberlain]

I thank the hon. Lady for giving way again. She is speaking powerfully about aid and contributions. May I briefly mention the global polio eradication initiative? Polio could be eradicated in the next three years, which would be a historic milestone for the world, but to do that the UK Government need to commit £50 million a year to the initiative for the next two years. Given how little we can do to support Afghan at present, this is one tangible action that the Government can take. Will the hon. Lady reiterate that call tonight?

[Alice Macdonald]

Absolutely. We were, of course, on the brink of eradicating polio. It exists in very few countries, and to see it surge again in countries such as Afghanistan risks so many development gains.

Can the Minister tell us how much is currently being spent on women’s rights and how much we will spend next year? Will he commit himself to protecting that funding for the future, and will he ensure that the money reaches the women’s rights organisations and women’s rights defenders on the frontline?

However, no amount of aid can address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan, and in that context I turn to my second point, about justice and accountability. Many Afghan women are calling for gender apartheid to be recognised as a crime in international law. Their call is now being taken up by a number of member states as well as international legal experts and lawyers, and I back that call. Can the Minister set out the Government’s position on recognising gender apartheid through the new “crimes against humanity” treaty that is currently under negotiation?

We have seen alarming steps taken by some member states to normalise the Taliban. Can the Minister assure the House that the UK will not normalise relationships with the Taliban? More than four years into the ban on girls’ education, can he point to improvements that have been made through our direct engagement with the Taliban? If there has been no such progress, what will be done differently?