Quitting work to wed a cop-out, says Robinson

Former president Mary Robinson has said she is "very concerned in US society at the number of bright women graduating with master's degrees who actually say 'when I marry and have children I am going to cut out of the workplace' ".

She considers this trend is "quite worrying because [ these women] are copping out. They are not seeking to have society adjust to let them continue to fulfil their potential."

Mrs Robinson added: "I'm not sure if it's a trend in Ireland but in the States it is leading to women not staying in the workforce at senior business level, so we are back to the old problem. It might be right for some but for it to become a trend is worrying."

She was also worried that young Irish women were becoming complacent about their rights.

Mrs Robinson said she was not reappointed to her post as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights because of her public concerns about the war on terrorism and the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.

In an interview with The Irish Times, Mrs Robinson (61) confirmed speculation that she had not been reappointed three years ago, despite being willing to continue for another two years, due to pressure from the Bush administration.

"After 9/11, I found myself in the fairly lonely position of needing to be very critical of the United States because human rights have to be the standard for everybody.

"I was getting more and more reports back, and it's still continuing, that there was ambivalence about torture and that the Geneva conventions weren't applying.

"At this time I conveyed quietly that I would be prepared to stay on but it was made very clear that the US would not support me continuing and that meant goodbye," said Mrs Robinson.

In the interview she says she kept quiet about the issue at the time, not wishing to involve the office of Human Rights Commissioner in any scandal.

Now based in New York with the Ethical Globalization Initiative, Mrs Robinson was in Dublin to launch the Gender-Based Violence consortium made up of the Government and various NGOs which aim to tackle the problem of violence against women and children in conflict situations.

She says her new role as the face of the consortium will mean she will be spending more time in Ireland.