Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is giving to women soldiers in Iraq through (a) training and (b) provision of body armour.

The UK has trained female soldiers from the Iraqi Security Forces in infantry skills, combat first aid and explosive hazard awareness as part of the wider Coalition programme to build security force capacity in Iraq. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced to the House on 2 September 2014 (Column 16WS), the UK has also gifted non-lethal equipment to the Peshmerga including enhanced combat body armour suitable for both men and women.