I'm writing this on a calm, Saturday night under a silver speckled navy blue sky. Just imagine that  you have two children who are not children anymore. The elder of the two is a boy, or rather a man,  who  in the course of  everyday life falls out with another villager, an adult male and assaults  him. 

The younger of your children is a beautiful,  fragile, 14 year old girl,  who is dragged  kicking and screaming with terror, into the forest  to be brutally gang raped, at the order and with the blessing of the village council made up of the most respected, undoubtedly grossly depraved men in the village.

All this as a punishment or retribution for her brother's infringement.

You as a mother, pray and beg on your knees for your daughter's deliverance. But to no avail. The Council is made up of men, and in your village,  women are there to be used and abused and to bear the brunt of man's insatiable quest for sexual domination .

Post gang rape, your daughter might be burnt alive, lynched, killed or condemned to a life worse than death. 

As a mother you are condemned to live with the pain of this tragedy in silence, wondering if such atrocious senseless unjust justice would have ever been contemplated, had the Council been made up of mothers.

This particular atrocity happened last week in India and somehow we got to know about it. Much more and much  worse happens all the time  and all over the world and we never get to know,  but it’s happening nevertheless, in this world of patriarchal domination that we have been born and bred in, and in which such a hierarchy is the recognised norm,  generally subconsciously undisputed, even if consciously occasionally very  hotly contested. 

The women do the work, bear the children, serve as receptacles for all kinds of male whims, make the world go round. Then the men ride on the female's labour and achievements, brag about 'their' success, belittle and expose women to derision at every opportunity  by the things they do or do not do, and prey on the sensitive, consenting, bridge-building nature characteristic of the female sex to keep her in check.

All this, men can do, being safely cushioned by a patriarchal condescending society of old that recognizes this kind of male behaviour as a norm, while at the same time vociferously deploring by action or inaction any female voice that  refuses the strait jacket, rejects all invitations to amnesia, challenges the status quo and sets out to deconstruct this  unbalanced disorder of things.

Last week, Sai Mizzi, a very accomplished, highly educated and capable mother of two, undoubtedly the sole architect of all the potential  good fortune  that is coming our way from China,  finally engaged the local media.

Now I have no doubt that Ms Mizzi not only thoroughly researched   our national  lines of interest and orchestrated the actual contacts with the right business, but is actively spearheading the conclusion of the deals which would mean the beginnings of priceless opportunities for Malta.  

While  Sai Mizzi was quietly  going about her work  and taking care of her two very  young children, the same government which engaged her inadvertently fuelled speculation by the Opposition and public at large, by the manner of her engagement and later by withholding information about her contract of engagement.  

It is perfectly legitimate for the people  to ask questions and get answers about how their money is being spent, therefore since Sai Mizzi is not only super-qualified  for the job she is doing, and since it is blatantly obvious that she is giving  unprecedented results, I cannot understand why the government is loathe to furnish the public with the knowledge it is seeking.

It’s obvious that by its behaviour the government has exposed and is exposing this woman to unjustified derision and wrath of the public, while riding high on her indisputable success! 

It is common knowledge that jobs like hers are very highly remunerated and usually directly reflect the financial value of actual  investment attracted, which means that even if the €13k a month  figure is true, it’s just a pittance compared  to what a person in her position would be getting had it been working for another government.

The people are not concerned with how much we spend on what, but on the return we are getting on our investments, our to be precise, how much water if any, our  value for money promises hold. 

While Sai Mizzi was carrying the burden of the people's wrath  by her unknown  pay package, the government was swiftly engaging manpower of doubtful capabilities in highly paid positions, which are as we speak bleeding the public purse  and will continue to do  so until their acquiescence is required.

Also last week a male dominated  puppet on a string called  MEPA approved an outline permit for a cow farm, and cow dung processing depot, under the vulnerable noses of our brothers and sisters at Dar tal-Providenza.

The approval passed with the Chairperson's casting vote which says a lot about the government's feelings about the matter.

Now if the dung depot and the  foul trail  that will mark the transportation route of the  excreta, really has to crown the approach to our Prehistoric Heritage and its serene surroundings, then so be it.

Like the so be it  the people confirmed for the complete and utter condemnation of  the  once picturesque Marsaxlokk Bay by  the unwelcome presence of the monster gas contraption  that will be choking whatever is left of its beauty.

However, to condemn the most fragile  and dependant in our society to further unfortunate circumstances is inconcievable and unacceptable.

While the Church, for a very long time has shouldered more  than its share in alleviating this social and moral responsibility  and  managed to run the  home on providence.

We on the other hand, pay our taxes to the state and not to the Church. Therefore,  I suppose this is as good a time as any  for us to start thinking of de-institutionalising  and relocating our presently institutionalised disabled community, by identifying  houses in the heart of each of our towns and villages and turning them into veritable integrated family homes, for not more than 10 at a time of our dependants, similar to the small home in St Helen Square, Birkirkara.  Of course the Church and NGOs can keep on running them in tandem and in synergy with the government's resources.... but this is a service our country should support as state service....and   not just as a charity.

Thank God our President is a strong, sensitive woman, as is our Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly and Disabled. Of course they can always rope in our very vocal Civil Rights Minister  for support to get the ball rolling.

At least there is real hope for a sensible and timely intervention.

In the meantime we will just have to wait and see how strongly the most vulnerable in our society, actually feature in this government's agenda.