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Proceeding contribution from Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour) in the House of Commons on Monday, 16 June 2008. It occurred during Ministerial statement on Afghanistan.


Afghanistan

My hon. Friend makes several important points. She will be aware that the representation of women in the Parliament of Afghanistan is proportionally greater than the representation of women in our Parliament, although that is not the end of the story. She will also be aware that a third of the young people—6 million—who are in education in Afghanistan are girls or young women, none of whom were educated under the Taliban. As she knows, there are still attacks on women and occasions when things happen particularly to women that suggest we are not making any progress, but we need to ask ourselves whether the lot of women in Afghanistan would be better if we were there or not there. I was in Lashkar Gah a couple of weeks ago and saw significant numbers of women on the streets of that community for the first time, and I know which way they would vote. On my hon. Friend's specific questions, I do not imagine that she expects me to have those statistics at my fingertips, but I will ensure that she gets them and that they are given to her in such a way that everybody else in the House can share that knowledge.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
477 c683-4 
Session
2007-08
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Armed forces Deployment Police Peacekeeping operations Politics and government Prisoner escapes Terrorism Training Security Afghanistan NATO Reconstruction Harrier aircraft Taliban Military aid Tornado aircraft
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk