Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I am not going to go all the way with the hon. Gentleman—[Laughter.] Sorry; that was an unfortunate turn of phrase. In all seriousness, we have had 10 years of looking at the status quo and the Brexit deal we have at the moment. That Brexit deal is not serving our country well enough, so Members of this House have to make a decision: do they think that the status quo is right and that we should hang on to it, or can we do better? I think the most important date for us in Government at the moment is 20 November, the day of our EU summit, where we will do better on trade, on defence and security, and on all the other issues. Parties on all sides have to decide what they think about this. Do they think the status quo is right? We think we can do better, and that is what we are going to do.

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

7. What support his Department is providing to Afghan women and girls.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

We are all deeply alarmed by the systematic discrimination and exclusion of women and girls from public life, education, employment and decision making in Afghanistan. That is why we are providing £105 million a year to support the Afghan people, and our aid reached 5 million Afghans last year, including 3 million women and girls. We continue to press the Taliban directly on women’s rights, and we work through our international partnerships to raise these important issues.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

During Evidence Week, I met Dr Sara Polo to discuss violence against women and girls in conflict areas, including Afghanistan. Although many aspects of the national action plan on women, peace and security are encouraging, academics such as Dr Polo have pointed out that there are areas for improvement, such as including victims of non-sexual violence in NEP initiatives. What discussions has the Minister had with academics about the NEP, and how can academics engage further?

[Stephen Doughty]

We engage with a wide range of experts on these issues, and I would certainly welcome a chance to discuss these matters with the academics the hon. Lady references, but I can absolutely assure her that the Department engages with a huge range of civil society and expert organisations. That is very important in informing our work on these issues.