Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to the report A/HRC/53/21: Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls.

The UK Government is grateful for the report of the Special Rapporteur and the working group which sheds further light on the Taliban's severe restrictions on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Officials are considering the report's recommendations.

We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict the rights of women and girls, including through the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council resolutions and public statements. We continue to work with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their harmful policies.