Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase assistance for women and girls in Afghanistan.

We continue to raise rights of women and girls in our political engagement with the Taliban, including pressing them to ensure full and equal access to education for all. The Government has doubled our aid to £286 million FY 2021/22. We have now disbursed over £145 million which will support over 3.4 million people in Afghanistan and the region, providing emergency food, health, shelter, water and protection. Our humanitarian programmes will provide assistance to the most vulnerable, including women and girls. We are also funding child protection support and supporting access to gender-based violence services. In addition, we are meeting directly with Afghan women to inform our policies and programmes.