Sisters on the hustings

Recently news of the determination and perseverance of two females made the headlines but probably barely got a second glance from local readers.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a politician in Burma, now Myanmar, who despite being kept under house arrest for nearly 20 years for leading an Opposition in her country, struggled and persevered with such quiet defiance that it earned her a Nobel Prize for Peace. San Suu Kyi has now registered her candidature for the general election to be held in her country in the coming months.

Yulia Tymoshenko is the former Prime Minister of Ukraine currently imprisoned after undergoing what many perceive as an unjust trial for seemingly trumped-up charges. Just before Christmas, Ms Tymoshenko wrote of her experience in jail and her writings reveal the suffering of a woman who in the face of imprisonment and torture still believes in mankind and in a better future for her country.

Two women, two countries, a world apart! What is striking to me in both stories is the sheer courage and driving force of these two female politicians. I have often lamented the lack of females in Maltese politics and the reaction to my writing on gender issues has usually been on the disappointing side with a number of stereotypical bloggers indulging in a violent expression of colourful expressions targeted at “the fairer sex”. So in anticipation of this let me just clarify that this is not a gender-biased opinion piece and my attempts to raise awareness of the need of more Maltese females in politics stems from a genuine belief that our society would actually benefit from this.

I am sick and tired of the long list of lame excuses of why women should not be in politics and even more annoyed at the countless number of people who are discouraging and disapproving when a woman announces her intentions to actively participate in politics.

First and foremost politics is not gender based or biased and the desire to be of service can be just as powerful in a woman. I would venture to add that this sense of service to neighbour and country is sometimes stronger among women; however the actual challenges to succeed in politics, in order to be in a position of authority to render such service, may seem overwhelming, daunting and at times simply impossible. Maybe it is for this reason that our society has such a rich participation of volunteers, male and female, helping the numerous non governmental organisations in their sterling work!

To their credit, the two main political parties give ample space to women candidates but within our electoral system crunch time is voting time.

With election fever slowly taking over, this is an appeal to the electorate to increase female presence both in local and national government – but wait, please do not misunderstand or misquote me! My appeal again is not a simple gender-based one and I would not wish for one to vote for female candidates simply because of their gender. However, if a female candidate has the right qualities to fight for what she believes in, to go the distance in the political foray, if she displays courage, maturity and determination and can use her skills to the benefit of her party, then why the reluctance to vote for a woman?

It has been proven time and time again that the best success stories have resulted from the introduction of women in the board room, in top managerial positions and in Parliament. In politics, as candidates we bring to the table the same qualities and qualifications as our male counterparts. As females, we bring to our parties a wealth of possibilities which reflect in the policy and strategy making for the long-term improvement of our society and country.

Unfortunately our track record in voting for female candidates in elections (most notably the recent European Parliament elections where despite both PN and PL presenting excellent female candidates no Maltese woman made it to the EP) proves that there still exists a degree of reluctance to vote for a female. Both locally and internationally women have proven themselves to be excellent at rendering a service to their country. Will the Maltese electorate have faith in the Maltese woman come local elections and the next general election?

I would like to end by extending my sincere thanks to all our female parliamentarians, local councillors and party activists for their work, dedication and loyalty. As a candidate myself, and a working mother, I can appreciate the extra effort necessary on our part to push forward our beliefs for a better Malta for our families and children!

info@carolinegalea.com