HC Deb 06 November 2003 vol 412 cc807-8W
Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in opening schools for girls in(a) Kabul and (b) other parts of Afghanistan. [136211]

Hilary Benn

UNICEF has been working in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) and a number of NGOs to rehabilitate over 200 primary schools both in Kabul and in other parts of Afghanistan, with special emphasis on parts of the country where large numbers of people have returned from overseas.

We contributed £2 million to the UNICEF "Back to School Campaign" during 2002–03. The program targeted approximately 1.78 million primary school children (both girls and boys), and up to 50,000 teachers across Afghanistan. This year, over 4 million children are back at over 6,500 schools. Over one third of the pupils are girls.

Mrs. Spelman

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of workers distributing aid funded by his Department in areas outside Kabul, with particular reference to women aid workers. [136350]

Hilary Benn

DFID funded aid projects are implemented by its partners, mainly the UN and NGOs. All these partners have strict security guidelines in place to ensure the safety of their staff, including women. Some of these partners have also appointed dedicated professional security officers. The UN has security officers in all of its regional offices providing regular security updates and advice, to the UN and other aid agencies. In addition, ACBAR, the main NGO coordination body in Afghanistan, regularly updates and discusses all security related reports and advice with the NGO community. DFID provided a grant of £800,000 to the UN in October 2001 to enhance its safety and security measures.

Keith Vaz

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what facilities are available to Afghan women in order for them to be educated enough to be able to participate in the election. [136558]

Hilary Benn

The Constitutional Commission's public education department, run by the UN, has launched a wide-spread public information/education campaign to acquaint Afghans with the Constitutional Loya Jirga process. The electorate is being provided with information packages and training through provincial registration meetings. Concerning women's participation in the elections, specific information and training campaign is currently being developed by the UN but details have yet to be finalised. DFID has contributed £1 million towards the election registration process with a further £2 million allocated from the joint DFID-FCO-MOD Global Conflict Prevention Pool.