Strong representation of women in parliament 'next step' for Malta's democracy

Strong representation of women in parliament is the next step in our democracy, Nisa Laburisti said.  "This will ensure that our nation has the equal representation it deserves in the highest institution of the country."

Labour’s women branch referred to statistics that show that female representation in parliament has never breached ten per cent and that "the first election of the millennium saw a larger number of female MPs elected than in the last three elections."

"We can therefore say that we have barely made any changes in 70 years, when women first obtained the right to vote," Nisa Laburisti said.

In those 70 years, only eight women have been elected after the first count, they continued.  Malta has the lowest female representation in politics according to OSCE statistics and studies of the European Commission.

Nisa Laburisti also came out against newly-elected PN leader Adrian Delia, who spoke out about female participation Tuesday.

"Let’s not use women for political convenience. Those who find the door closed because of their gender, will find the door of the Nationalist Party wide open," he said.

"When he spoke against the Labour party’s initiatives to increase female participation in politics, he ignored the reality that a lot of women speak out about," Nisa Laburisti said.

The PL has launched a mentoring programme called LEAD, to help recruit female candidates.

The Labour party’s female branch also rebuked Delia’s claims that the Labour party is using its initiatives to increase female participation "for political convenience", arguing that these initiatives are "a need that people supported last June when it chose the movement that supports change."