The British press said it before but there is no harm repeating and adding a touch of Maltese flavour in the process. The manner in which the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women has reacted to a chocolate advert shows that "authority" in this country has lost its sense of humour, admittedly something the Maltese are not renowned for.

More importantly, this incident has served to distract attention from the more serious gender issues at stake. Furthermore, it wounds the commission's credibility at such an early stage in its existence.

Yorkie is the brand name of a chocolate promoted by its manufacturers as being a bigger than usual bar which has men for its target. As if to emphasise this, the wrapper in which the chocolate has been nestled by Nestlé has the message "It's not for girls!" blazoned across its side. This is precisely what made the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for Men and Women see red. It found the message and the thrust of the marketing campaign "offensive" and "discriminatory".

Macho proclamations that anything is not for girls normally compel the latter to take up a contrary position. Nestlé knows this only too well. If it's good for men, it's good for girls, too, seems to be the normal reaction of our "sinned against" sisters. But the commission found the Yorkie advert "point blank discriminatory" and let it be known that the Gender Equality Act 2003 clearly lays down that discriminatory advertising will be deemed a criminal offence.

Nestlé wisely decided to withdraw its advertising campaign - as if this incident did not give it enough free publicity - although its marketing manager in Malta, a woman, no less, expressed surprise at the commission's reaction

The commission's executive director, a woman too, did not mince her words: "In an environment where equal opportunities in Malta are still at an embryonic stage, this advert is harmful," she harrumphed.

So we are now led to conclude that if a mouth-watering Yorkie is posing a threat to equal opportunities in Malta, what on earth can equal opportunities mean? Apparently, Liverpool was similarly inflamed by a Yorkie relaunch which had a team handing out free samples of the chocolate to men in the city centre. A woman council worker was not having any of this, although it is not clear what she would have done had free bars also been offered to women! The council banned the sexist bar campaign.

The Advertising Standards Board, if such an animal exists, should take an interest in this case. Is the Yorkie advertisement offensive? Is it "point-blank discriminatory"? Does it contribute to a culture that places women at a disadvantage in the equal opportunities market stakes?

What challenge does this bar of chocolate pose for the female species? What threat does a concoction of cocoa, sugar and cream hold for the continued existence of our sweet sisters?

One final remark. In an era of inequality as perceived by the commission's executive director, the idea that a bar of chocolate denied to the female gender adds to inequality is difficult to fathom. Concluding that the same bar of chocolate endangers an engendered species is an uphill task.