Madam, - In his Irishman's Diary last Thursday, Kevin Myers made remarks about a number of people which I believe were gratuitously offensive. They only undermine his thesis that scant attention is paid to the violence and abuse of human rights that affect men compared with those suffered by women.
Vanessa Redgrave has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador since 1995, working tirelessly to highlight the human rights abuses suffered by children who are victims of wars, children who suffer exploitation, children orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS. She has made such activity her life's work and her campaigning is informed by a deep understanding of international affairs and human rights law.
Earlier this week, she participated in a demonstration in Washington, against the continuing detention of prisoners without trial in Guantanamo Bay. I laud her for consistently highlighting human rights abuses that affect both adults and children.
I have been also impressed by the work that Bianca Jagger does in this area.
UNICEF is committed to levelling the playing field for girls and women by ensuring that all children have equal opportunity to develop their talents. Despite international laws guaranteeing women equal rights with men, women around the world are denied their rights to land and property, financial resources, employment and education. We have long emphasised that of the 110 million of the world's children out of school, two-thirds are girls; and of the world's 875 million illiterate adults, two thirds are women.
Nearly a third of all adults living with HIV/AIDS are under 25 and two-thirds of them are women. In Sub-Saharan Africa, girls are getting infected faster and earlier than boys. In the 15-24 age group, two girls are infected for every boy.
Female genital mutilation affects l30 million girls and women globally and places 2 million at risk annually. Every day, 400 women die from pregnancy-related causes, 99 per cent of them in developing countries.In Sub-Saharan Africa, a woman has a one in three chance of dying in childbirth. In industrialised countries, the risk is 1 in 4,085.
More than 80 per cent of the world's 35 million refugees and displaced people are women and children.
I think we should support all those who use their "celebrity" status to highlight human rights abuses, recognising their tireless efforts and the media exposure which their involvement commands. The fact that Mr Myers is aware of the recent Amnesty report is testament to this success. - Yours, etc.,
MAURA QUINN, Executive Director, UNICEF Ireland, Dublin 1.