PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Women's rights in Afghanistan (17 August 2021)

That this House is horrified at the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and is particularly concerned about the impact on women and girls of the collapse in the Afghan government and return to power of the Taliban; notes that some 80 per cent of the near quarter of a million Afghans forced to flee their homes between the end of May and early August this year are women and children, which must be reflected in asylum planning by the UK Government; notes that assurances given by Taliban representatives, including to the Russian foreign ministry in July 2021, that they would respect human rights, including those of women, within the framework of Islamic norms and Afghan traditions, has allowed local Taliban leaders to repudiate Afghanistan’s Law on the Prohibition of Violence Against Women, which was passed in August 2009, and return to the days of child marriage and forced marriage, with evidence emerging of young girls and widows being demanded as brides for Taliban fighters; further notes the words of Mahbooba Siraj, founder of the Afghan Women's Network, who said that if the Taliban took over it would crush women's voices, and Pashtana Durrani, Executive Director of LEARN, an Afghan NGO for girls’ education, who said that, for Afghan women, this means losing your houses, your dreams, your goals, your ambition, your identity; and calls on the UK Government and the international community to stand united behind women’s rights, including the right to education, in Afghanistan.

Sponsored by:
Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party)