PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Developing Countries: Females (28 June 2021)

Advancing gender equality and women and girls' rights is a core part of this Government's mission, including 12 years of quality education for girls, empowering women socially, economically and politically and ending violence against women and girls. Meeting under the UK Presidency, G7 Foreign and Development Ministers endorsed two new global targets on girls' education in low-income and lower-middle income countries, which we are calling on the world to help deliver by 2026. Ministers also endorsed a girls' education declaration, which states that the G7 will work in collaboration with developing country partners, multilateral institutions, civil society, girl-led groups and youth leaders, to remove the obstacles to education that stand in the way of girls. This includes addressing the social, environmental and institutional barriers to education such as reducing violence, reducing harmful cultural practices like FGM and amending restrictive policies or legislation that prevents girls from thriving in school.

We know women and girls are amongst the hardest hit by the indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why we donated an additional £10 million to the UN Population Fund's COVID-19 response and an additional £1 million to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women for the COVID-19 Crisis Response Window.