Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure aid reaches (a) women and (b) girls in Afghanistan.

UK aid continues to reach vulnerable women and girls despite the obstacles to delivering aid, including the Taliban's prohibitive policies and actions. Between 2022 and 2023, the UK has provided food aid to 2 million women and emergency humanitarian assistance to 2.3 million women.

The UK Government continues to condemn the Taliban's attacks on the rights of women in Afghanistan. We remain committed that at least 50 per cent of people reached with UK aid in Afghanistan will be women and girls - a commitment we met in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 and are on track to meet for 2023-2024.