Today is International Women’s Day, and no doubt we will see and hear a lot – as we have already in the run-up to this annual occasion – about the importance of equality between the sexes and about the work that is being done to improve this, and the work that still needs to be done.

The fact is that the past year has been one of ups and downs when it comes to women’s rights and how women are treated in this country.

There were highs, as, for instance, Malta’s national women’s football team became a symbol for female empowerment in sports by achieving historic results in the UEFA Nations League – results which have been unprecedented in the world of Maltese football as a whole.

We saw the country unite behind Isabelle Bonnici, a woman – a mother – and her cause, in her fight for a public inquiry for the death of her son Jean Paul Sofia in a construction collapse.  We saw Roberta Metsola continue to shatter the glass ceiling as she led the European Parliament.

However, these are the achievements – albeit inspiring – of a few. On a wider scale, there is plenty more to be done.

One must look at the situation when it comes to domestic violence as one example.

The murder of Bernice Cilia – around 18 months ago – showed that a lot is lacking when it comes to this sector. This is particularly the case when one sees that she did everything by the book: she had reported her husband to the police more than once to no avail, and an inquiry into her death found that the state had failed her.

This was due to the lack of resources to deal with the heavy caseload of domestic violence cases and that the police had not acted quickly enough when it became clear that Cilia’s husband had breached the protection order issued in her favour.

The backlog of cases has not improved, though:  Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech last November showed documents and court summons showing that cases were even being scheduled as far ahead as 2025, leaving women at risk right up until the slated court date because no other court action was possible up until then.

Throughout last year, we also saw a long and sometimes heated discussion on abortion and reforms to Malta’s laws following the Andrea Prudente.  Too often were women treated and discussed as if they were mere objects throughout this debate, as the matter of reform became a battleground between ideologies.

There are other points as well: for example, Malta remains very low in the ranking of women in decision-making positions. Only 5 women feature in Malta’s current Cabinet of 27, and the number of female CEOs in government entities is at best negligible.

We must ask questions of ourselves as a country: Are we doing enough for the women in this country to be equally treated to men?  Are we doing enough for them to be equally represented?  Are we doing enough to address the realities that they face on a daily basis? Are we doing enough to even make them feel safe?

Only when the answer to these questions and to a myriad of other related questions is ‘Yes’ can we consider the thought that we might be anywhere near the equality that women deserve.