The shooting of a girls' rights campaigner brings into cruel focus the struggle to educate girls in the developing world - and the vital benefits this education can bring

The family planning world is meeting in London this week to make one straightforward request – give 120 million women in the world’s poorest countries access to contraception.  Their reasoning is basic: ‘It’s mortality, stupid’. 

The family planning world is meeting in London this week to make one straightforward request – give 120 million women in the world’s poorest countries access to contraception.  Their reasoning is basic: ‘It’s mortality, stupid’.  Pregnancy is the leading cause of death for teenage girls in the developing world.

Sir: One of the tests of the Immigration and Asylum Bill currently before Parliament is its effect on the most vulnerable - children. The UK so far has not agreed to give special protection to child refugees or asylum seekers as stipulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The introduction of this Bill is an opportunity to do so.

Sir: A major rationale for an international ban on soldiers under 18, which was missing from your article, is the difficulty of ascertaining the true age of young people in many countries.