Last March, the government introduced legislation to increase the presence of Maltese women in the Maltese Parliament. I believe there exists a consensus in the country on this issue and all agree that there should be more women MPs in the seat of our highest institution.

What many do not seem to agree upon is how to attain this objective. Personally, rather than having fixed quotas imposed, I would go for balanced electoral candidate lists, what is actually called a zipped list, with females and males alternating in each party list. This system is found in Germany and in other countries, and not only in Europe.

However, to make the zip system really work, the STV electoral system, manipulated by PL/PN over the years and changed piecemeal the Maltese way, would have to be replaced by a different electoral system.

Having now experienced the egoism and greed of the PL/PN for over 30 years, I am convinced that the two long-established Maltese parties will do all in their power to retain a system that will keep the duopoly surviving till kingdom come. So, my ‘zip system’ proposal would never be adopted.

Maltese women have had varied reactions to the government proposal.

Miriam Dalli, quoted by Times of Malta, believes more women should be attracted to politics, giving them the opportunity to gain experience and become valid candidates. 

If there were more female candidates, more women representatives would be elected either as MEPs or MPs, she argued, adding that this was the idea behind the Labour Party’s Lead initiative, which Dalli was heading.

Roberta Metsola, also quoted by Times of Malta, believes there is need for political parties to have “many more” female candidates on their lists: “The issue is not with the electorate not wanting to elect female MPs but, rather, that we do not have nearly enough female candidates on certain districts on a national level. We can and we must do much better on this front.” 

Metsola admits she hopes people choose to elect her because they think she is the best person for the job and not the best woman for the job. 

On the other hand, JosAnn Cutajar, senior lecturer at the University of Malta, has been quoted by Times of Malta as stating that political parties should place quotas on men if they want to ensure that only the best candidates from both sexes are chosen, according to a gender studies senior lecturer.

“We need to have a ceiling on men. If we push for quotas on women, those women would have to constantly legitimise their position. We need to curtail men’s over-representation in politics because we’re bringing in mediocre men,” Cutajar said, quoting French gender politics expert Rainbow Murray. 

The proposed legislation is in reality a partisan exercise to favour Labour or PN women

As for the Prime Minister, when presenting the proposed legislation, he stated: “The reform would define who we wanted to be as a country”. 

He compared the proposed reform to when voting rights were extended to all men, to when women who knew how to read and write were eventually given the right to vote, and when that right was later extended to all women.

As has happened other times, Muscat’s words are nothing but an exercise in “creative lying”. The proposed legislation is not a law in favour of Maltese women. It is in reality a partisan exercise to favour Labour or PN women. 

I, therefore, hope that after the various submissions submitted, the proposed law on gender quotas is modified in order to ensure true proportional representation among all Maltese women.

As things stand at the moment, the law is the biggest insult to Maltese women.

It is in fact proposing that 12 women, from the Nationalist Party and from the Labour Party would be co-opted to Parliament. 

This proposed law is not a law in favour of Maltese women, but in favour of Labour and PN women. It is the biggest insult possible to Maltese women, telling them that you can only be a Nationalist or a Labourite to qualify. All other Maltese women are considered to be non-eligible.

I hope that this hideous and unequal treatment of Maltese women is done away with immediately. Are the Labour and Nationalist women’s organisations going to speak up?

Indeed, the Minister for Equality, Helena Dalli, should also do what is right. 

She should intervene immediately to stop this sham and politically biased interpretation of equality among Maltese women.

If this does not happen, I expect the commission appointed to pilot this law to ensure all Maltese women are treated equally. 

Having only Labour or PN women who can qualify as “added on” MPs is an insult not only to all Maltese women but also to the whole nation that supposedly prides itself on the concept of equality for one and all. 

Arnold Cassola, academic and politician, is a former general secretary of the European Green Party and former member of the Italian Parliament.