It is getting boring and repetitive. The latest move by Equality Minister Helena Dalli to promote ‘equality’ was the introduction of the gender-neutral ‘X’ in official documents, including passports. It effectively means that anyone not pleased with a male or female denomination can opt for the X category.
They may have reasons for doing this but what they have not been told was that putting an X on their passport, legal as it may be according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation, could create problems in some countries.
In recent weeks, Canada too added X to its passports. But immigration lawyers there have warned that using gender-neutral passports in countries like Uganda and Jamaica, where being gay is illegal, could see people open to arbitrary detention and degrading treatment. The Equality Minister mentioned nothing of this at the X launch. It was all smiles.
When this newspaper asked Human Rights and Integration Directorate head Silvan Agius on the restrictions in some countries, he was very clear: you travel to such places at your own risk. Not much of a consolation.
Coinciding with Gay Pride celebrations, Dr Dalli was also speaking of gender-neutral uniforms, saying women should not be forced to wear skirts as part of their uniform. Presumably, nor should men, but what if they want to in this new gender-neutral world? It is truly getting ridiculous.
All this comes to a background of gay marriage legalisation at the beginning of summer. It was the fulfilment of an electoral promise by both the Nationalist and Labour parties and, incomprehensively, was rushed through before the summer parliamentary recess. Of course, there was a price to pay for the change, as legislation had to be made gender-neutral, and words like ‘mother’ have to be replaced by ‘the person who gave birth’.
Achieving equality for LGBTIQ people is commendable but this should come in addition to and not at the expense of long-established society norms. The institution of marriage, between a man and a woman, is a foundation pillar of society. Nothing can change that.
Incredibly, all this is taking place as far more serious trouble brews in Marsa. Too busy bringing equality though X passports, the Equalities Minister appears to overlook the foreign community living there. The police have been making their presence felt in Marsa, with one newspaper calling it a “racially-profiled police swoop”, oblivious to the fact that racial profiling is anathema to liberals, especially in the US. The difference is that here migrants have no vote.
Naturally, the problems in Marsa are not limited to migrants. There are drug issues, alcoholism, people sleeping in the streets and a general sense of lawlessness. The asylum seekers, or immigrants, seem unable to integrate within society .
Rather than promoting their integration, we have a ‘liberal’ government that promises to relocate them and keep them in a ghetto. Sadly, it was not liberal thinking that stopped plans to relocate them to Ħal-Far but a negative reception from nearby Birżebbuġa residents.
If Dr Dalli is so truly keen on promoting integration and equality, she has her work cut out for her in Marsa.