Results 1-20 of 24 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Baroness Afshar

Welfare Reform Bill: Report (2nd Day) (27 Oct 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I add my support and thanks for the changes that have been made and for the acceptance of the centrality of the welfare of children as the main concern of the Bill. I am concerned about violence among some minorities, particularly in cases of forced and polygamous marriages, where the women have very few rights. Women who run away with a child are considered to be dishonouring the...

Welfare Reform Bill — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (22 Oct 2009)

Baroness Afshar: I have a concern with respect to minorities, which can regard any kind of mental illness as a dishonouring factor in the family and are highly likely to hide anyone who has that kind of disability and exclude them from access to these rights. Being able to find those people and visit them helps the individual—sometimes against the wishes of the family, but it is extremely helpful and...

Welfare Reform Bill — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (22 Oct 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I speak in reluctant support of this proposition, not because I think that couples who live together should be married, but in particular because for many low-income couples the facility of taking time off is not a real option. If you have an insecure job in which you are paid for the day you work, taking a day off may not be appropriate. My hope is that the preference given in the...

Welfare Reform Bill: Report (1st Day) (22 Oct 2009)

Baroness Afshar: I add my thanks for the substantial changes and for the impact that the Committee has had. As a newcomer, I am absolutely astounded at the kind of work we can do, and I am very grateful for the changes that have been initiated. I should also like to add my support for this amendment, because sometimes, in the depths of Yorkshire, finding affordable childcare becomes quite a problem. It seems...

Women: UN Special Rapporteur — Question (9 Jun 2009)

Baroness Afshar: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support the establishment of a post of United Nations special rapporteur for women.

Women: UN Special Rapporteur — Question (9 Jun 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that very helpful answer. Would the Government consider appointing a rapporteur and follow the example of Ireland, where they have appointed a rapporteur for UN Security Council resolution 1325? Given that women are still considered to be the booty of war and that they are attacked, raped and violated in situations of conflict, someone needs to be there...

Children and Families — Debate (14 May 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I add my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, for keeping the question of the welfare of families and children always at the forefront. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, for mentioning that the business of working, as well as the business of raising children, is affected by gender, and that the way in which policies are introduced often does not take into account...

Cohabitation Bill [HL] — Second Reading (13 Mar 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Lester, for introducing this Bill. I speak as a Muslim woman and declare an interest as the chair of the Muslim Women's Network. However, here I speak in an entirely personal capacity as someone who, through training and culture, has never cohabited and who, some 30 years ago, had the good fortune to find the only man in the world who could survive being...

Women: Economic Crisis — Debate (12 Mar 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Gould, for always keeping women on the agenda, and declare an interest as a commissioner for the Women's National Commission. However, my concern today is that, despite UN Security Council resolution 1325, we see a conspicuous absence of women in the processes of peacemaking and formulating the post-war and reconstruction programmes for developing...

Gaza: Reconstruction — Question (4 Mar 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords—

Equality: Volunteers — Question (4 Mar 2009)

Baroness Afshar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that volunteers working for charities enjoy the same rights under equality legislation as those in paid employment.

Equality: Volunteers — Question (4 Mar 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that very helpful Answer. However, sometimes the good name of volunteers is ruined by unfair dismissals or accusations. In the light of the very important contribution that they make, would it be possible to allow them access to an ombudsman so that they have a route to clear their name?

Gaza — Motion to Take Note (6 Feb 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, as a member of the Coexistence Trust led by the noble Lord, Lord Janner, and as a teacher of Islam and the Middle East at the University of York, I thought that one of my major functions as both a teacher and a participant is to avoid labelling and stereotypes. Just as we feel that anti-Semitism is unacceptable, we must also think that Islamophobia is unacceptable. I worry about...

Inequality — Debate (29 Jan 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady O'Neill for introducing the debate and I thank all the contributors. I raise the point that many of us do not have choices. The assumption that everybody can exercise choice is problematic. We are limited not only by class and opportunity, as has been stated, but in particular by race and gender, which open limited pathways for many of us. Speaking as a...

Inequality — Debate (29 Jan 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, of course it is not their duty, but it is generally women who do so. We have to be careful about defining choice. It is essential that in our differentiation of choice we think about celebrating difference. We can contribute different things at different times during our lives, so let us please open the pathways.

Equal Pay — Question (29 Jan 2009)

Baroness Afshar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure pay equality between men and women.

Equal Pay — Question (29 Jan 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, for this very helpful measure. I am very pleased about equal pay for flexible work. However, will the Government consider the payment of wages for domestic work, which could add to the existing success of family allowance in the knowledge that this kind of money gets spent immediately and locally? It would have a great multiplier effect and...

Retirement — Question for Short Debate (13 Jan 2009)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Greengross for putting this Question to the House. I declare an interest, because I am rapidly approaching the age of 65, so the axe is about to fall. I am fortunate in serving in your Lordships' House, where you might keep me for a bit longer, and also at a university where, as yet, our contractual agreement to work until 67 has not been revoked. I find...

NHS: Dentistry (3 Jul 2008)

Baroness Afshar: asked Her Majesty's Government: What steps they are taking to maintain standards in NHS dentistry, in the light of dentists leaving the National Health Service.

NHS: Dentistry (3 Jul 2008)

Baroness Afshar: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that reply. Does she acknowledge the difficulties that arise when, according to a recent health survey in York, 45 per cent of people in the city of York who wish to see a dentist when they need one cannot do so?