Chamberlain leads debate on ‘gender apartheid’ in Afghanistan

Scottish Liberal Democrat Wendy Chamberlain MP has today led a debate in Parliament calling on the government to provide greater support to Afghan women and girls. She described the persecution of women in Afghanistan as a crime against humanity.

Ms Chamberlain, who co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Afghan Women and Girls, highlighted the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and called on the UK Government to reverse cuts to aid spending in the country. She also discussed the consequences of denying education to Afghan girls.

She appealed to the government to match UK visa requirements for Afghan women and girls to the restrictions and difficulty they face on leaving the country, and urged the government to engage directly with the Afghan women that the parliamentary group had heard evidence from.

Speaking in the debate, Wendy Chamberlain said:

“This is a perfect storm for many women. After decades of fighting many households are headed by women, who made up the majority of NGO workers. It is these families who are being hit hardest by the Taliban’s edicts. 

"Evidence from networks of Afghan women heard by the APPG is that women and children are commonly seen in groups begging. They face extreme poverty. Children are being sold and child marriage is rising.”

She later added:

“The situation in Afghanistan is dire, with the UN estimating that a third of the country’s population will need humanitarian assistance this year. Women and girls face the daily consequences of a gender apartheid which has robbed them of the rights they exercised before the Taliban seized power.

“It would be all too easy to look away, but I am determined to force the government’s attention onto Afghanistan and the plight of women and girls living there. There are practical steps the UK and other countries could take on aid, education and visas.”