[WATCH] PN women’s branch president says equality is not just about 'superficial' gender quotas

Government should be looking to include women on more boards rather than propose gender quotas to increase female representation in parliament Moviment Nisa Partit Nazzjonalista president Charlene Buttigieg said on Friday.

Addressing a conference organised by the PN on the occasion of International Women's Day, Buttigieg said that women did not need positive discrimination to succeed.

“I am convinced that we have the talent and the capacity to be successful. We don’t want tokens and propaganda, but opportunities to succeed,” Buttigieg said.

She added that Woman’s Day should serve as a celebration of women’s achievements in society, despite the many challenges they still faced.

This was echoed by GRTU CEO Abigal Mamo who was also critical of the government’s plans for the introduction of gender quotas.

She suggested that such a measure would only serve to increase prejudice against women.

GRTU CEO Abigail Mamo

“As a former European Studies student, the first time I heard about quotas was in relation to fish,” she said sarcastically.

“The worst type of discrimination a woman can experience is being elected simply for being a woman,” Mamo said.

She went on to add that quotas failed to address challenges faced in balancing a career in politics while also raising a family.“Quotas are a number which shows equality on paper, but which do not instil proper equality in society.”

Gender equality must be made a priority even at a young age

PN leader Adrian Delia insisted that efforts need to be made to instil a mentality of change towards greater equality across all segments of society, especially in children.

He stressed that social realities were changing, and that society needed to adapt to those changes.

“We must instil the mentality of equality from a very young age,” Delia said. “If boys and girls have are drilled into thinking that their capabilities are restricted by their gender, then the attitude will never change.”

The PN leader stressed that women in Malta and around the world still faced challenges on a daily basis.

“Today is a day like others, where women are unfortunately still not given the same rights as men, where they still face daily challenges,” Delia said. 

The conference, called ‘Mara Success’, saw several speakers express their views and experiences of the challenges faced daily by women in society. 

Delia said that when in government, the PN had always put women on the forefront of its agenda, and insisted that it will keep doing the same going forward. 

“PN governments have always strived towards removing barriers and stereotypes holding women in society back,” he said. 

Women’s success should not be based on employment

Life Network Foundation chairperson Miriam Sciberras, also stressed that women in society still face many challenges, adding that there were “many who were afraid to say they are women”.   

“When a woman has the choice and support to succeed, she is able to accomplish as much as a man,” Sciberras said. 

Referring to the abortion debate, Sciberras said that the Life Network Foundation offers support to a wide range of challenges faced by women during pregnancy, while also providing psychological help to women suffering from depression after having performed an abortion. 

Sciberras insisted that abortion could never be allowed to be an option.

“If we start aborting children for having some sort of disability or deformation, what are we going to do with people who have a disability later on in life?” she asked

The pro-life campaigner also said that society needed to appreciate women who dedicated their life to caring for relatives back-home, adding that women’s success in society is not only calculated by the number of women in the work force. 

“God forbid we calculate the success of women in society by the number of women that are working. We need women that make a career out of staying at home, we need women who care for the old and weak,” she said. 

PN MP Kristy Debono said that the conference had served to show how women can truly impact our society positively. 

“We have not concentrated our effort on rhetoric and stereotypes associated with women but have instead spoken about the challenges women face, while also discussing possible solutions,” Debono said.