What do the US Democratic presidential race between a white woman and a black man, the current spate of court cases in the UK involving monstrous men like Steve Wright – men who kill a large number of women (sometimes prostitutes) or children, or teenage girls (one sent down for life lately hated blondes), and the frenzied stabbing of a mum, possibly by her own daughter, in San Gwann this week, have in common?
That despite all the beating on the chest about racism (which is certainly still alive, well and kicking, be it in Malta, the UK or the US), hatred of women is even more of a problem than hatred of people because of their colour. At least it is, number-wise, in the Northern Hemisphere, where the biggest disadvantaged group remain women.
Since nature produces girls half the time you would think that society, at least Western society, would by now have adapted to this natural fact but no. The Catholic Church still only lets men become priests. Men dominate our political and business classes.
And what is much more frightening is that women are more likely to be murdered by their own family or people they have close relationships with. Paedophiles target girls most of all, be it on the streets, the net, or on their sick holiday travels to the East where children have to sell their bodies to survive, much as women have had to do for centuries.
It is institutionally unsafe to be a woman.
Even if you follow court cases in Malta, it’s usually women who are killed, be it a sister who didn’t make the tea like her brother wanted, an errant girlfriend, a loyal wife. And they say women are trouble? In polite, educated society outside Malta of course you can say a woman is trouble but not that a black man is trouble.
The UK is even planning to teach its police the sharia law. Incredible. The British police would be better served protecting all their women, black or white.
The Church of England Archbishop even suggested that the State should respect sharia law, and surprise surprise the Catholic Bishop defended him. Because sadly that is what all these church people of any faith have in common. They want religious club rules to take precedence over the State and that will be a big tumble downhill, not only for the whole of society but for women and girls in particularl. If there is one thing most religions, certainly Catholicism and Islam, have in common it is the subjugation of women to men. We should never ever close our eyes to this however much we love our God. God is one thing worth believing in. Formal religion demands huge handfuls of salt before you believe what it says.
The Church in Malta has attacked racism much more than it has attacked misogyny. But then they, the Church people with power that is, are all men, interested in things remaining as they are or becoming even more traditional. And the role of women? To be Madonnas, even though nature dictates we are not. To be made into statues that might cry one day. How very, very sad.
And the biggest problem we face is sadly not only from men but from other women too.
Nowhere is this more aptly illustrated than in the US. A full 90 per cent plus of black people are going to vote for Barrack Obama, at least polls indicate they have so far in the Democratic primaries. Yet only around half of women will support another woman, even if she is their own colour, class or whatever.
What is this mania about women berating other women?
If you’re pretty women hate you, if you’re ugly or fat or not well kept you are criticised too. Even here our very few women MPs on the blue side are all older, therefore safer, and generally are the traditional family types. Not one under 45, not one who is unmarried. I remember some very nice looking and bright candidates in the last local elections who got no votes at all. Basically they were too young, too pretty and too bright. A killer combination that most women can’t take.
And even in the EU elections Nationalist voters did not go for the most capable candidates they had (which Labour voters did do incidentally). They went for the candidates who had most support on the media, and who fit the mould. So male and unmarried is OK in Malta.
Female and unmarried with children most definitely not. So the lady who Brussels deemed right to be its Commissioner in Malta did not get elected as a candidate. Staggeringly stupid behaviour of our voters, PN voters and PN women voters most of all, who did not vote for a woman who was obviously up to the job, even though she may not have fitted the other traditional criteria women voters want, that is, married and safe and not too bright and threatening?
Women must be peculiar. Whereas men often employ men in their own image and likeness many women don’t. Women are scared of employing other women who are good looking. Women are scared to befriend women who are better looking than them. How often do you see a very pretty girl with the ugliest possible best friend clinging to her side?
Men are wary of women and women are wary of women! Maybe that’s why the better candidate to be US President might not make it, even in the supposedly most advanced society on earth.
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