Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Accepted
Paragraph: 48
The FCDO should proactively target future aid interventions towards getting more of the most marginalised...
Recommendation
The FCDO should proactively target future aid interventions towards getting more of the most marginalised women and girls, including from rural and hard-to-reach communities, into school and actively involved in the economy.
Government Response Summary
The government refers to related responses and states that women and girls are a priority in the International Development Strategy. They have developed a Pakistan Network Gender Strategy (2022–27) to increase our focus on women and girls, including those who experience multiple vulnerabilities.
Paragraph Reference:
48
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Response: We welcome IDC’s emphasis on inclusion of marginalised groups throughout the report. Please refer to the related responses to recommendations 22, 34, and 35. In addition, the UK’s Gender Equality Act and the Public Sector Equality Duty require us to consider the needs and impacts of all UK aid programmes on women and girls and marginalised groups. Women and girls are also a priority in the International Development Strategy. We have made good progress on targeting women and girls and other marginalised social groups (see the examples set out in our response to recommendations 22, 34, and 35). For example, the Aawaz II programme has used a vulnerability index to select hard-to- reach communities in 45 districts. It has directly supported 44,490 individuals, including marginalised women and girls, transgender people, persons with disabilities, and religious minorities, to access social protection and other government services. Similarly, our provincial education sector programmes in Punjab and KP prioritised girls and children in hard-to-reach areas and communities. We remain committed to targeting future aid to marginalised groups. We have developed a Pakistan Network Gender Strategy (2022–27) to increase our focus on women and girls, including those who experience multiple vulnerabilities due to disability, faith, poverty or protected characteristics. However, it is important to recognise the challenges associated with collecting data, as minorities may not wish to identify themselves as belonging to minority communities. In particular, shrinking civic space may also limit our ability to work on sensitive human rights issues.