Sir, - In their letter of June 23rd Brendan and Caitriona Lynch quoted a comment by a committee member of the UN Convention on all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on the Irish Government's report to that body. It is an interesting example of how three little dots may distort meaning. She was quoted as saying that it "considers that the persistence of the emphasis on the role of women as mother and caregivers. . .constitutes a serious impediment to the full implementation of the Convention". Without the three little dots the full statement reads as follows:
"The Committee considers that the persistence of the emphasis on the role of women as mothers and caregivers tends to perpetuate sex role stereotypes and constitutes a serious impediment to the full implementation of the Convention. The lack of emphasis, in public perception and in State policy, on the shared responsibility of men for family and caring work further compounds the situation of de facto inequality of women."
The Lynchs' attack on our Government was followed by their views on the National Women's Council of Ireland. I have a different point of view. As an older woman who has not been in paid employment since marrying in the 1960s, I am grateful to the Government and to the NWCI for acting as a watchdog for the many changes that have occurred. One major example is the feeling of security women have regarding the family home as well as inheritance matters. It is, I find, the envy of our sisters in many other countries.
The CEDAW committee, in its concluding comments on the Irish report, says that "it welcomes the Government's commitment to mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes, and the regular scrutiny of all governmental proposals for their impact on women".
While we obviously have a long way to go - particularly in the area of childcare - surely constructive criticism and encouragement would be more useful and productive to both the Government and the NWCI. - Yours, etc.,
Joy McCormick, Brooklyn, Greencastle, Co Donegal.