Our woman in Brussels

I am about to blatantly beat the drum in favour of women in politics. This will not be a personal pitch but rather will be a clear and unequivocal endorsement of my female colleagues standing for the upcoming European Parliament Elections. As polling day is fast approaching I feel the need to share some thoughts regarding all female candidates regardless of political hues or beliefs.

In the elections for the European Parliament held five years ago, two female candidates stood for this prestigious post, hailing from the Nationalist Party. For the forthcoming elections the number has risen dramatically to eight but unlike five years ago, the female candidates now hail from a wide spectrum of parties. This also means that close to a third of all contestants are now women. Has not the time come to elect at least one female candidate in these elections? Is it possible that women will not be present in the forthcoming line-up of MEPs for the next legislature?

This theme was recurrent in a seminar held recently by The National Council of Women with the express intention of raising the necessary awareness as to the role of women in politics, in this case the effective and executive role that Maltese women can play in the European Parliament. Undoubtedly much has been done for women to enable us to break the infamous "glass ceiling". No one can deny that women have made impressive progress in integrating themselves in the labour market. This also applies to other important positions that have continuously enhanced the status of women in key roles in the decision-making process.

Sadly it still remains evident that particular attitudes, be they cultural, historical or social still hamper the full representation of women in politics. This observation is abundantly clear when we study Malta's female record in domestic parliamentary elections. Our Parliament is made up of 65 members of whom only five are women. To boot, this is a decrease on the previous legislature which "boasted" six female members.

On a local council level these figures are slightly more encouraging since today, 18 per cent of Malta's local councillors are women. The situation in general is not very encouraging when one considers that the European threshold for female participation is nothing less than 30 per cent. It is clear that we have much catching up to do to reach these targets. Another interesting fact is that from 27 countries in the EU, Malta and Cyprus are the only two countries that have a 100 per cent male representation in the European Parliament. On the other hand, Luxembourg has an equal number of MEPs from both sexes.

During this conference a number of interesting points were raised. The Speaker, Louis Galea, very correctly pointed out the fact that our political parties strive to be as inclusive as possible with regard to female participation in the political process. Furthermore, especially in the case of the traditional big parties, the latter have had special fora and organisations especially dedicated to women for a very long time. The objective of all this has always been to improve and encourage female participation in politics.

The lack of direct female participation in political decision-making has long been criticised as a weakness in our political development. Beyond any gender issues, I remain convinced that our political parties have consistently presented many valid female candidates and hence, the fact that many remain excluded from Parliament remains a puzzling conundrum.

The Speaker emphasised the need for increased female participation and stressed that this has been an issue very dear to him during his political career. In his new role he is now able to make a more objective analysis of the situation and continued to positively remark on the sterling work our female parliamentarians present in Parliament today. He went one step further and commented that in many cases he felt the latter were sometimes much more prepared on particular issues arising from time to time in Parliament than their male colleagues! These observations continue to strengthen the argument for increased female participation in local and European politics.

And yet the proof of the pudding is in the eating! Harping on this under-representation will not suffice. The ultimate decision is taken at the polls and it is the voting public that has the last word. It is evident that for us Maltese there remains an underlying resistance to change. Clearly we are still suffering from antiquated paternalistic attitudes that are not easy to bury. I believe it is time that as a nation we endeavour to ensure a female presence in the forthcoming MEP selection.

During the same conference, themes such as gender equality and representation were leading issues. Sadly I must also add that I observed a dearth of women of my generation present at the meeting. It saddens me to see such disinterest on issues that can really mean change for our social development and a fresh way of looking at the issues and challenges that face Maltese society in these increasingly changing times.

Among the very valid presentation by all the female MEP candidates I observed intelligent women who have a clear understanding of many crucial issues which have a direct impact on the future of the Maltese family. I am amazed that as women voters we do not stand up and pay more attention to what is being said by these politicians. By no means am I appealing for women voters to vote for women. That would be too simplistic an approach of doing things. This is not simply a gender issue but a chance to choose valid politicians who because of their gender will have a particular sensitivity towards certain subjects.

Female politicians can present a different perspective at approaching particular issues. Our female MEP candidates can bring to the table talents, specialties and capabilities equal to their male counterparts and yet they clearly possess stronger sensitivity and susceptibility to issues such as the family, children, education and women's health.

Let us not squander this opportunity. It is time to make our voice heard and show confidence in our female politicians this time around. It is time to have a Maltese lady in the European Parliament!