The Scottish government has unveiled its new foreign policy — and it’s proudly “feminist”. In an announcement made with some fanfare, it declares that the new approach “will leverage all aspects of Scotland’s international policy to advance gender equality and the rights of women, girls and marginalised groups in pursuit of a fairer world”.

What could possibly be wrong with that? Well, the first clue is that no one with a serious interest in advancing women’s rights talks about “gender” equality. In countries like Afghanistan, women and girls suffer serious violations of their rights because of their sex; they are denied education and forced to marry older men because they are biologically female. In developing countries, women need access to safe contraception and abortion, which have nothing to do with gender. If a government doesn’t recognise the vital role of biology in discrimination against women and girls, its “feminist” foreign policy will fall at the first hurdle.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters