Perhaps there are those who are not very keen about celebrating Women’s Day. Perhaps Women’s Day will not make much difference to most women because, on this day, they hardly disrupt their tedious routines to celebrate. It might be that this day is insignificant for many because they do not appreciate the tough journey women had to undertake in order to arrive where they are now, at least in those countries where they did manage to go any distance.
If nothing else, for me Women’s Day is an opportunity to reflect on the many achievements made by women despite the social, cultural, political and religious forces that sought to keep them in their place. We might forget women’s uphill struggle to overcome the cultural strings with which they have been traditionally tied to their home, making them believe fulfilment is only to be found in housework and childcare. Many of us tend to take for granted that which women before us strove so hard to achieve.
We may forget that until the 20th century, millions of women still could not vote. We may forget women’s struggles for better conditions of work and equal wages to those of men, at least de jure if not de facto. We may forget that, until very recently, men in Malta were still legally considered to be the heads of their households and that women were still considered secondary citizens even when it came to decisions pertaining to the children they would have borne and bred themselves. We may forget that, until only some years ago, women had to give up their government job upon getting married; that women were not even deemed capable of driving a bus…
Nowadays, women have more rights and opportunities. They may choose to continue studying. They infiltrated fields that were previously male-only domains: they became managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers; they became prime ministers and presidents, even astronauts. This may give the impression that, nowadays, men and women are equal before the law and society.
First of all let us not forget that in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries, millions of women are still regarded as secondary citizens, as men’s chattels: they still have no vote, no rights, no choices, no dignity, no education, no decent health services, no freedom, no power, no voice…
Although in Malta we can thankfully say these are things of the past, we might want to pause and reflect for a moment before getting carried away with the celebrations since on this tiny island of ours there are thousands of women who are still today bearing the brunt of our patriarchal and parochial society. Here, as in other developed countries, women’s earnings are still on average a percentage of what men earn; women are still not equally represented in public institutions such as Parliament, the law courts, government boards, the media and in the higher positions of any organisation.
Crucial decisions are still taken by men in most social, political and economic sectors. Women are still expected to be homemakers and child carers. While many working women are sharing the economic burden with their husbands, this is not being reciprocated by many husbands who are still unwilling to do their domestic share; very often hindering women from fulfilling their potential both on a personal and social level.
On this day dedicated to women, I would like to think of those women who live in fear in their own home, not knowing when the men who are supposed to love and respect them will give them the next beating; of those women who have been raped even by their own partners; of those women who have been forced to become prostitutes; of those women who are bringing up their children on their own; of those women who live in poverty and who sacrifice their needs in order to feed their family; of those women who would like to continue studying or return to work but have no support from their family; of those women who cannot afford childcare in order to have some time for themselves; of those elderly women who are alone or in homes abandoned by their loved ones; of those women with insecure jobs; of those women who have been trafficked to Malta to work in our so-called gentlemen’s clubs without any respect for their rights as workers; of those women who are stigmatised or discriminated against due to their sexual orientation; of those women who are in prison or in our crowded detention centres; of those women who would like to be mothers and of those mothers who have lost a child; of those women who would like to end an unhappy marriage but do not have this option…
Although I feel powerless to change any of these unhappy situations, which are the lived realities of thousands of women, I hope that, through Alternattiva Demokratika, I would be able to make a very small contribution towards easing the pain of so many women since the policies we promote are based on humanistic and universal values of human and civil rights, social justice and equality, which respect the dignity of every man and woman.
The author is spokesman for social development of Alternattiva Demokratika – the Green party.