Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has urged the Labour Women forum to advocate in favour of government's proposals regarding the composition of Parliament, to increase the representation of the under-represented gender.
Recently, government proposed adding a maximum of 12 seats to Parliament, so that the under-represented gender would have at least a 40% representation in Parliament.
He said that so little was done for equality for decades, and that the illusion that so much has been done over the past seven years could give the illusion that everything has been done now and nothing is left to do.
"The reality is far from this." He said that there is a lot of work still to be done to reach a situation where everyone has equal opportunities.
Muscat said that there seems to be agreement that something needs to be done. He said however, that there are different versions on how to do it.
He said that some argue that equality could be achieved through education, however he said that this has been what Malta has been trying for 50 years, yet "we didn't even move one step with regards to representation. I urge more vociferous advocacy for the needed changes. We must not rest on the idea that proposals were made and that, on this basis, things will fall into place."
He urged those who believe in the proposals to advocate for them.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat urged them to be the voice for change. He said that these are not changes they can do on their own.
He said that the central point is, "whether, to do a jump start for Parliamentary equality, we need to give 12 seats to the under-represented sex."
"I don't think it's an outrageous or extreme proposal. We need to strongly advocate for it."
from The Malta Independent http://bit.ly/2OZdUl6
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