One of this year’s themes for International Women’s Day is Be Bold for Change, encouraging policymakers, decision makers and legislators to take action that truly drives change for women.

Probably in our case, we should aim for ‘bolder’ change, not merely ‘bold’. We are considered by many to have taken bold stances already, for instance to propose in our electoral manifesto free childcare for all working parents and for those who are studying.

At that time, I remember being told this pledge would never materialise. This was not said by our detractors only but also by some of those who actually believed in the project but were sceptical about whether it was doable. We were told that no government in Europe offers such a service.

But we also had every study and survey showing us that the biggest challenge mentioned by most as keeping women out of the labour market was affordable childcare.

So we knew we had to do something bold about it.

This government’s roadmap in the area of women’s advancement has been a clear one: financial independence first. All the initiatives taken in this area of policy have been to encourage women to enter the labour market. We   encouraged women to move from welfare to work; our policies were for making work pay.

Only when we have reachedfull equality will we be able toask about the relevance of International Women’s Day

Structures such as free childcare for all working parents, in-work benefits and family-friendly conditions of work are giving encouraging results.

As stated by the European Commission’s country report, the increase of women in our labour market is substantial: still not what we want it to be, but there is a marked improvement.

The statistics show the clear commitment of the government in this area and that we can achieve our aim when we are clear about our destination.

But even though the European Commission’s country report is telling us that we are succeeding in what we set out to do – that is, provide more employment opportunities – and parallel to that to set up the necessary structures so that parents can work and also raise a family, the leader of the Opposition continues to criticise destructively by misquoting reports to suit his agenda.

This coming from the leader of a party, which for over two decades in government never did anything about childcare, for instance, while working parents had to pay through the nose for the first three years of their children’s nursery schooling. Rich.

These structures are necessary if we believe that financial independence is of the essence. Only then can a person be auto-nomous. And thus, only when women can provide for themselves and for their children will they be able to walk away from abusive relationships.

We are being bolder in our work to eradicate situations where wives feel like chattel, scared to leave in case they find themselves on the breadline.

Perpetrators of violence in a domestic setting will be dealt with, not only through legal sanctions but also with obligatory programmes addressing this type of gender-based violence.

We are amending existing laws and working on new ones to deal with this state of affairs and give women more legal protection.

After ratifying the Istanbul Convention and after a process of consultation with stakeholders, we are now presenting to Parliament a much-strengthened law on gendered violence.

We are also in the committee stage with our cohabitation Bill. This law will give rights to hitherto vulnerable people in relationships, who lacked any legal protection whatsoever.

Also, the Equality Bill will provide a sturdier legal framework to citizens in cases of discrimination and inequality.

We are also working on amending anachronistic laws which still regard the wife as the property of the husband.  We are inviting the public to participate in this exercise, so that we leave no stone unturned with regards to legislation which does not reflect the progress our society is undergoing.

We want to come to a point where all women are financially independent and have all the legal protection necessary. It is then that women will be able to determine their lives and their futures.

Only when we have reached full equality will we be able to ask about the relevance of International Women’s Day.

Until then, we shall continue working so that every woman will be able to reach her full potential, be self-sufficient and a contributor to society.

Helena Dalli is Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties.