Mothers without husbands, daughters without mothers

The rate of children born out of wedlock is soaring and last year 704 babies were born to single mothers, putting them at a higher risk of poverty.

In its November edition, which will be distributed with The Times tomorrow, Pink speaks to a woman who is a reluctant mother with an unwanted baby facing financial woes.

She shares her innermost feelings of anguish and helplessness as she desperately tries to reconcile her unspoken desire to put her daughter up for adoption with the guilt that would dog her all her life.

Pink is celebrating its first anniversary this month, a year that has seen it grow from strength to strength, finding a firm position in the local magazines market, despite its young age.

The greatest honour came on Monday when Pink, through Ariadne Massa's articles, won the national print journalism award (features).

When it first set out, Pink was designed to be "the magazine for women, about women, exploring and celebrating women in their multi-faceted forms". Today it feels it has fulfilled its promises and the readers' feedback has been extremely encouraging. Pink promises to continue growing and presenting articles that are interesting and new.

This month while highlighting the unhappy bond between a mother and a child, we also wanted to portray the love and relationship between mothers and daughters, one of the most indelible and enduring between human beings.

Being the month of the dead, Pink chose to pay tribute to those mothers who have passed away, leaving their daughters feeling cheated. PrivateI's Daughters Without Mothers speaks to a number of women who may have had different relationships with their mothers, but who have all suffered in the same way in their absence.

And still on the subject of death, PinkShrink looks into bereavement in an attempt to shed some understanding on an emotion that is so hard to come to terms with.

But it is not all doom and gloom in the Big Birthday Issue. Even though it has focused on death as opposed to birth, Pink has not ignored the fact that the party season is round the corner, and its fashion pages showcase a variety of festive frocks.

The magazine is packed with other interesting articles: a health feature on whether all our ailments are all stress-related; the best way to achieve a flat stomach; a quiz on women's relationships with their girlfriends; a list of the top 10 books you can buy as Christmas presents for your loved ones; a spot of culture and travel; recipes; horoscopes and home décor.

Distributed every month, Pink is published by Allied Newspapers Ltd, produced by MediaMaker and its editors are The Times journalists Fiona Galea Debono and Ariadne Massa.

pink@timesofmalta.com