Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli praised Prime Minister Joseph Muscat for suggesting a gender quota within Parliament on Tuesday evening in Parliament.

She was responding to a question about whether this current government is the most feminist one in Malta’s history. Dr Dalli and Parliamentary Secretary for active ageing and persons with disability Justyne Caruana were addressing the government’s bi-annual event entitled: ‘A government that listens’ (Gvern li jisma’). This edition was themed ‘Social Justice’ and took place on Women’s Day.

Dr Dalli said that “Women’s Day is probably one of the most difficult ones due to the number of events. I always say we need to work for the day where we do not even need Women’s Day, a day where there is full social justice.

“My ministry is a very vast one [encompassing civil liberties, consumer affairs and social dialogue], so it necessitates much time in order to see that justice is being done for each portfolio.”

The advancement of women in society must be preceded by equal pay, true independence and an abundance of opportunities for all, she said.

“The parliament is supposed to be representative of the country, however it is actually made up of only about 10 per cent of women. Dr Muscat did not shy away from the controversial topic of introducing quotas, so we welcome this approach that is in support of women.”

She spoke of the need for laws to keep up with changing society, and the fact that sometimes laws are updated before society has evolved. “Some laws treat women like their husband’s property, such as the law of the family name and of property laws. We need to see how to amend this.”

Parliamentary Secretary for active ageing Justyne Caruana said that the government “strengthened structures through changes in the law”.

Dr Caruana spoke of the strengthening of community services, and major reforms that provide the elderly with more independence and a better quality of life. She announced that two new homes for persons with disabilities are to be set up in Naxxar and Kalkara.

“When a person is part of society, we are saying that the person has all the tools necessary to be an active member of society. Unfortinately, some people do not have those tools, such as persons with disabilities. Therefore, we need community services to provide these tools and give more vulnerable people a solid foundation to start off with.

One of the most important services is that of the community care scheme, said Dr Caruana.

“Each year, there are 800,000 separate cases with various needs. In addition, we have the night shelter services. This year we introduced the respite services. Are these services truly national? When I was in the Opposition one of the biggest critiques was that social services stopped at Cirkewwa and Gozo was forgotten. When this government came into power, believe it or not, I introduced the night shelter service, I launched the respite facility and brought more beds to Gozo for homes for the elderly.”

The first round of question time that was intended for the public to put forward any questions they may want to pose to Dr Dalli and Dr Caruana was used by prominent people in local society who made statements rather than questions. Medicine’s Authority Chief proudly stated that 60 per cent of his workforce is female.

Alistair Degaetano, a student who conducts research on autism and the only somewhat ordinary citizen speak, remarked that Malta’s has one of the most radical laws when it comes to autism, and organisations in Europe and Ireland have looked towards Malta as a model.

Other comments and statements were made by high-ranking officials such as CEO of St Vincent de Paul Josianne Cutajar, Equality Commissioner Renne Leivera, Mark Gauci from the Organisation for Health and Safety, Chairperson for the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development John Bencini, Medicine’s Authority Chief Anthon Serracino Inglott and Labour MP Silvio Parnis.

Towards the end of the event, a regular attendee of this bi-annual event and a genuine member from the public, an elderly woman, delivered a confusing statement about sex, transgender persons (trans), the Constitution of Malta and God.