Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2014-04-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 18 March (WA 16), how many programmes are already being implemented to tackle violence against women in Afghanistan; and how many programmes focussing on the other strategic priorities of the Department for International Development in Afghanistan are being implemented.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire

Two programmes directly address violence: £3M towards a joint programme with Australia to improve the implementation of laws designed to protect women and girls affected by violence; and £19.9M DFID support to the Tawanmandi programme with grants to Civil Society Organisations, where at least £2M of grants from 2014 will go to organisations primarily focused on the elimination of violence against women and girls.

Violence is also indirectly addressed through a long term approach of promoting women’s rights, empowerment and education. DFID has a wide range of programmes supporting this agenda, e.g. £4.5M nation-wide support to women’s political participation and the £47M Girls Education Challenge fund improving access to education for 250,000 marginalised girls.