Women in Malta

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Women in Malta
General Statistics
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)8 (2010)
Women in parliament14.3% (2013)
Women over 25 with secondary education68.6% (2012)
Women in labour force63.6% (employment rate OECD definition, 2019)[1]
Gender Inequality Index[2]
Value0.175 (2019)
Rank40th out of 162
Global Gender Gap Index[3]
Value0.703 (2021)
Rank84th out of 156
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Women in Malta refers to, amongst others, the social status of women in the Maltese society in different context of Maltese history, past and present.[4]

Education[]

The Roman Catholic Church in Malta remained stagnant about the role of women in society, at least until the late 20th century, by holding the view that females were to get married and become housewives throughout their lives.[5]

Schooling of girls in Malta indicates: “...evidence of remarkable commitment to the full development of girls in a global society.”[6]

Politics and suffrage[]

Main article: Women in Maltese general elections

Fifteen general elections have been contested since the granting of universal suffrage in Malta in 1947. Only 73 women have contested in these elections. The number of men, on the other hand, has exceeded 1000. The number of women contesting general elections has, however, increased over the years. In fact, the 1998 elections saw 24 women candidates participating, the highest number to date, with six of these getting elected, registering a 25 percent success rate.

The smallest number of female candidates was in 1947, numbering only two. However, the result showed a 50 percent success rate, since Agatha Barbara was elected.[7] The election of 1955 saw the lowest percentage of women candidates being elected with a 14.3 percent success rate, when only one candidate out of seven was elected. Following this, the success rate rose slowly until, in the 1976 election, there was a 42.3 percent success rate for women candidates. At that time, three out of seven contestants were returned. These were two Labour candidates Agatha Barbara and , while from the PN obtained a seat following a by-election.

However, the success rates of the first and third elections won by female candidates have never been matched up till now (in 1947 it reached 50 percent while in 1951 it was 57.1 percent). The rate slowly rose to 42.9 percent in 1976, but this momentum was lost and success fell to 20 percent in 1981. It rose to just 28.6 percent in 2003. The 2003 election gave the same results as that of 1998, with six women parliamentarians, three each for the two main political parties.

Abduction and marriage laws[]

Further information: Marriage by abduction

In 2015, Malta was criticized by Equality Now, for a law which, in certain circumstances, can extinguish the punishment for a man who abducts a woman, if following the abduction, the man and woman get married.[8] (Article 199 and Article 200 of the Criminal Code of Malta[9]) The article was ultimately abolished by Act XIII of 2018, Article 24.

Further reading[]

  • The library of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) in Malta
  • S. O'Reilly Mizzi. "The Changing Status of Women in Malta" Journal of the Faculty of Arts 6:4 (1977) pp.253-263
  • Vella, Yosanne (2017). "Criminals". Women in 18th Century Malta. SKS. p. 97. ISBN 9789993217534. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "LFS by sex and age - indicators".
  2. ^ "Gender Inequality Index" (PDF). HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORTS. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Global Gender Gap Report 2021" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  4. ^ Rudolf, Uwe Jens; Berg, Warren G. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Malta. Scarecrow Press. pp. 233–235. ISBN 9780810873902.
  5. ^ Cassar, Carmel (1988). "Everyday Life in Malta in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries". In Manuel Victor Mallia (ed.). The British Colonial Experience 1800-1964: The Impact on Maltsse Society (PDF). Mireva Publications. pp. 91–126.
  6. ^ Grace, Gerald Rupert; Joseph, O’Keefe (2007), Grace, Gerald; O’Keefe, Joseph (eds.), "Copyright: Catholic schools facing the Challenges of the 21st century: An overview", International Handbook of Catholic Education Challenges for School Systems in the 21st Century, Volume, Netherlands: Springer, 2: 1–11, doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-5776-2, ISBN 978-1-4020-5776-2
  7. ^ Sammut, Carmen (12 January 2018). "The road to Maltese women's suffrage and beyond". MaltaToday.com.mt. Retrieved 2021-07-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Malta - The Criminal Code". Equality Now. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  9. ^ "Leġiżlazzjoni Malta".

External links[]

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