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Sue Gray has warned “Afghan women are being systematically removed from their own society” in her first remarks since being ousted as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
The former top civil servant warned the prime minister and world leaders they must not “legitimise any process that sidelines Afghan women”.
And, speaking publicly as she joined the Friends of Afghan Women Network (Fawn) as chair, Baroness Gray said “we must all pull together to do better”.
She said: “I feel honoured that my first role since leaving government is to be invited to chair the Friends of Afghan Women Network. Afghan women are being systematically removed from their own society.
“This is not simply an issue of education. It is a question of human dignity, of rights, of global responsibility.
“I’ve been privileged to work with governments who have worked hard to improve human rights, and I will take this learning into this role.
“The world must not legitimise any process that sidelines Afghan women. It must continue to support Afghan women and girls. We must all pull together to do better.”
Baroness Gray was sacked as Sir Keir’s chief of staff in October after losing a bitter power struggle with his campaign guru Morgan McSweeney, who has since adopted her former role.
Sir Keir then offered her the symbolic role of envoy for the nations and regions but she rejected the position.
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The ex-Partygate investigator had been blamed for Labour’s dreadful start in government after July’s landslide general election win. Its early months were plagued by infighting, a row over freebies and complaints Sir Keir had failed to plan for government and was lacking a driving vision, with policies such as the withdrawal of winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners defining his tenure.
At the time, allies of Baroness Gray, who was put in the Lords by Sir Keir, said she would “focus on other things”.
She is now chair of Fawn, a British campaign group aimed at supporting Afghan women facing persecution under Taliban rule.
Writing for The Independent on Friday, Fawn co-founder Shabnam Nasimi warned girls in Afghanistan have lost access to education and participation in public life. “This is not a cultural nuance or a transitional phase, it is the formalisation of gender persecution,” she said.
She added: “The international community must now move beyond symbolic gestures and adopt a principled, coordinated approach. Diplomatic engagement with the Taliban must be conditional on measurable progress on women’s rights.”
Fawn is calling for an increase in funding for women-led organisations working inside and outside Afghanistan, despite Sir Keir’s government slashing the international aid budget to pay for an increase in defence spending.
