Michelle Muscat, the Labour leader's wife, intervened at an activity of the Divorce Movement this morning to express 'disgust' at a personalised letter being sent to many married women by the No movement.

Ms Muscat, who backs divorce, said the very fact that the letter was being sent only to women was discriminatory and insulted women's intelligence.

The letter, she said, listed reasons for voting against divorce, claiming that should divorce be introduced, a husband could simply walk out of a marriage and the children would suffer.

What worried her, she said, was that many people were not  seeing a distinction between the Church and civil issues and the people who were against divorce were taking advantage of the issue.

The main speaker at the activity was Deborah Schembri, chairman of the Divorce Movement.

Reacting to criticism of the concept of no-fault divorce, she said one had to be separated to be divorced, and separation was not without a reason.

The proposed divorce law, she said, laid down that couples had to be separated for four years before they could seek divorce. However those who were currently in separation proceedings could opt divorce without starting the process afresh.

Divorce, she argued did not break up families. That would have happened four years before.

She insisted that voting for divorce was about giving a choice. People would have the option of deciding whether or not to divorce. The people, she said, should be allowed to decide the course of their life in such a deeply personally issue.   

She also strongly criticised a billboard showing a child and asking people to vote against divorce on its behalf. This, Dr Schembri said, was arrogance, because children born out of wedlock would benefit from divorce.