President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca this afternoon pledged her support to causes that offer support to women whose rights are being trampled on.

“We shouldn’t only think globally when it comes to economic matters. This should also apply to social issues and aspects concerning human rights,” the President told members of the voluntary organisation Soroptimist International of Malta.

The members of the NGO, all women, visited the President at the Palace in Valletta this afternoon, shortly before they set off on a walk in support of the 200 Nigerian schoolgirls being held captive by militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

During the meeting Ms Coleiro Preca said that over the past years the world had witnessed several examples that reminded us that there were women around the world who were not allowed to exercise their fundamental rights.

She mentioned the case of Pakistani Malala Yousafzai who was shot in the head for campaigning for education for women, the case of the 200 abducted Nigerian schoolgirls and the recent case of the Pakistani woman who was stoned for marrying the man she loved.

Members of Soroptimist International of Malta, who included the wife of former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi - Kate Gonzi, will soon be walking through Republic Street in Valletta.

They will stop at Castille where they will present Prime Minister Joseph Muscat with a written appeal urging the Maltese government to put pressure on the Nigerian government to resolve the situation and free the girls.