Ms Melanie Hoewer:

Deputy Byrne correctly recognised that many of the conflicts that we deal with today, including Northern Ireland, are not just situated in different cultures, but also have an ethno-national nature. Cultural rights are fought for, within which context women's rights are often pushed to the sidelines. From a policy making point of view as well as an academic and activist one, we must be aware that there are different forms of existence in the world. Women are not equal - they are different and live in different situations. However, this can never be an excuse for not taking an individual woman's rights, as manifested in various international documents, into consideration.

From an academic perspective, I support the strategy chosen by Irish Aid and many aid agencies, through which they consider the responsibility for creating space for dialogue.