Looking back at 2017 | Shaking the tree and sticking it to the man

Christmas Specials • 2017 saw an increase in female activism and representation in Malta, but was it the year where one female voice excelled, or the year when it was silenced with the brutal murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia?

2017 will be remembered as the year sexual harassment finally made it to the front pages, fuelled by Hollywood stars publicly denouncing renowned directors and actors, and leading to a public outcry that gave the “me too” movement the perfect opportunity to push for awareness and change.

Women of all nationalities, race, creed and background came together and spoke out against prevalent chauvinism and sexual predators.

No issue was too small or too big, cat-calling got its time in the spotlight as did female victims of sexual harassment, rape and violence. These brave women – for it took courage to speak out, particularly is some male-dominated industries – were collectively even recognised as Time Magazine’s person of the year.

2017 will heretofore by remembered as the year that culminated in the downfall of the likes of Harvey Weinsten and Kevin Spacey, but also for the rise of the women who lived under their thumbs for years.

Not so Malta.

Locally, women still struggle to have their voice heard, with issues like sexual harassment and violence often being superseded by politics and – unfortunately – mundane things of little or no social import.

Carla Camilleri, of human rights NGO Aditus, agrees.

“One could say that if we look back at 2017, we can see a country that is still struggling to attribute to a woman’s mind and body the equal value, respect and freedom to those of a man,” she says.

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder garnered so much interest not only because it was a unique and barbaric murder – and possibly the first car bomb to ever result in someone being arraigned – but because Daphne was unique herself. Not only was she a journalist: she was fierce, unapologetic, and most of all, a woman.

A male journalist would probably never have been called emotional, loud, or objectified on the way they spoke or looked. Think of well-known public and political figures. Marlene Farrugia herself, the only woman leading (until only a few weeks ago) her own political party, is constantly called loud just for being passionate. When a man is determined and passionate, or ready to take action in his own hands, he is euphoric and left uninterrupted. When a woman does the same she is hysteric.

Democratic Party MP Marlene Farrugia: her passion is denigrated as hysteria
Democratic Party MP Marlene Farrugia: her passion is denigrated as hysteria

“Female journalists, politicians and civil society activists have been victims of targeted hate speech, misogyny and gender stereotyping both publicly and privately and we have seen that perpetrators have seldom been held to account,” Camilleri says.

Although Caruana Galizia’s murder may have grabbed the headlines, 2017 also marked 70 years since Maltese women were given the right to vote and stand for election.

70 years after universal suffrage, the faces representing Malta are still mostly male, academic Carmen Sammut, pro-rector of the University of Malta says.

“The trajectory of women’s emancipation is very often omitted from the prevailing narratives that reinforce our sense of nationhood.”

Women are still largely absent from Malta’s public sphere and highest democratic institutions.

“We see abysmal female representation in public life,” Camilleri adds. “Only 11% of electoral candidates in 2017 were women; no more than ten out of the 67 candidates elected to Parliament are women and women represent only two Cabinet Ministers out of 15 and six female judges out of 23.”

These statistics are very damning and show the distinct discrepancies between male and female participation among Malta’s decision-makers and lawmakers.

The wage gap too remains significant, with women in Malta earning almost half of what men get, standing at 45.6%, higher than most EU member states, with the average standing at 39.6%.

On the bright side, female graduates outnumber males and girls’ overall exam performance also exceeds that of boys.

“While other countries advanced, the participation rate in Malta remained frozen in time.” Sammut says. “We are far from achieving a gender-balanced representation in Parliament, where both sexes need to have a minimum of 40% representation.”

So not all news is bleak. Women have started to voice their opinions unapologetically more and more, fighting for what is right. Unfortunately, their battles have been worries for many years, and indicate the lack of equal rights. “The issues being discussed 20, 30 years ago are still relevant and topical today, access to reproductive rights, equality, domestic violence, political rights and so on,” Camilleri says.

Women are fighting back hard for what they believe in, and major battles are being won. In fact, it was only a year ago that the morning-after pill was legalised in Malta, after much debate led by women activists like lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic.

A number of women-led movements have also become more active, and new ones keep emerging.

“The Women’s Rights Foundation is leading the way for reproductive rights in Malta to be recognised, the Network of Young Women Leaders are calling for the participation of young women in political and leadership roles, the Migrant Women Association Malta promotes the empowerment of migrant women and Occupy Justice is a female-led movement calling for justice that emerged after Caruana Galizia’s assassination,” Camilleri agrees.

Women from the Occupy Justice movement camp out on the steps of Castille after the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, demanding the resignation of the Commissioner for Police and the Attorney General
Women from the Occupy Justice movement camp out on the steps of Castille after the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, demanding the resignation of the Commissioner for Police and the Attorney General

At the end of the day, women are vital, not only because they carry children, not only because they are your wives, your sisters, or your daughters, but also because they are human beings, and so women’s rights are human rights.

A feminist is a person who believes in equal rights and that men are not more powerful, intelligent or entitled than women. Feminists believe that no matter one’s sex, sexual orientation, job or interests, everyone deserves the same rights.

“History shows that we need to shake the tree,” Sammut says. “Change may require temporary positive measures, a topic that is now thankfully on the national political agenda.”

And the tree was indeed shaken in 2017 – a year which was a stirring pot of change, travesty and resilience.

With the growing active participation of women and the increasing number of voices speaking out, 2018 promises further exciting development, paving the way for the upcoming young generation of women to carry on the fight.