Mr. Speaker, since we will be celebrating International Women's Day on Saturday, I would like to share my concerns about women's rights in Afghanistan. The new Afghan government has been in power for six years now, and much remains to be done to improve the living conditions of women.
More women are committing suicide. Women are being raped by local commanders of fundamentalist parties. Women are being killed for expressing their political opinions. Islamic law still limits women's rights. All of these things show that there are still major obstacles to advancing women's rights in Afghanistan.
As a show of solidarity towards these women and to highlight International Women's Day, the Bloc Québécois is calling on the Minister of International Cooperation to continue what she is doing and provide more support for Afghan women who are fighting for equality.