Women's contribution to society hailed

The National Youth Council whole-heartedly believes that women have a positive contribution to make to all aspects of Maltese society.

In a message to mark the International Woman's Day celebrated today, the council highlighted the importance of female participation in the labour market.

Work must not deter women from raising a family or vice-versa, the council said.

The Cana Movement also expressed appreciation for the role of women in the family, society and the Church.

The movement said the contribution of women was needed in all sectors of life because of the unique role women played.

The Labour Party's spokesman for women's rights, Helena Dalli, appealed to the government to work to remove the imbalance in society against women. A positive step in this direction would be to have more women occupying decision taking positions, she said.

What was holding back the government from appointing women in important positions such as the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, she asked.

Mrs Dalli said that although four years have passed since the government promised to enact a law to protect women from violence, such a law has not yet been presented in parliament.

Myriam Spiteri Debono, president of the Labour Women's Movement, said that although a certain level of progress had been made in the integration of women in society, much more work still remained to be done.

The Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs (Malta) greeted all Maltese and Gozitan women.

Foundation president Angele Giuliano stressed that many women lead fulfilling family and career lives but that however few are as yet making the step to become independent and self-sufficient by opening up new business ventures and leading them.

This might be attributed to a variety of factors, however it should never be an issue of low self-confidence, she said.

The non-profit foundation was set up to promote opportunities, awareness building, training and research in the field of women entrepreneurs.

www.women.org.mt