President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was presented with the Public Life Award by Dr Zita Gurmai, European Member of Parliament and President of the Women’s Section of the Hungarian Socialist Party. Dr Gurmai said that this award was being presented to President Coleiro Preca in recognition of her long-lasting, enthusiastic political and social activity which has significantly contributed to the promotion and the improvement of women’s rights and gender equality all over Europe.
The award was presented to the President at the end of a conference organised by the Office of the President and the University of Malta with the theme ‘Gender Equity: A Human Rights Perspective’, organised as part of the series of events which the Office organised to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The President dedicated her award to all those women who have contributed so much to their communities and societies, “and in this particular time, I’d like to also dedicate this award to those vulnerable young girls who have been suffering in silence, all over the world.”
Addressing the youths present for the conference, President Coleiro Preca stated that “this conference is once again another opportunity for us to commemorate this important anniversary, and to reaffirm that women’s rights are human rights, and to emphasise the need for our girls and women to achieve that empowerment so that they can access their rights,” whilst adding that it is also an opportunity to celebrate women.
President Coleiro Preca said that the issue of gender equality was at the forefront almost 74 years ago, when our foremothers and forefathers created the United Nations with the United Nations Charter stating that “we the peoples of the United Nations determined to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small,” amongst other mentions in the articles of charter which emphasise the need for gender equality. The importance of gender equality was given recognition through the years by the United Nations, including in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the Millennium Development Goals and, more recently, in the Sustainable Development Goals, with goal 5 being specifically aimed at achieving gender equality, by the year 2030.
The President said that locally, even though there has been an improvement, women’s presence and representation in public life, and across all areas of decision-making needs to be strengthened, while also addressing areas of inequality—such as the gender pay gap—which are standing in the way of the attainment of full gender equality and equity. The President said that having legislation in place is a very important step forward, however the right infrastructure is also needed for women to be truly encouraged to take their rightful place in society. Moreover, she further stated that effective protection from all types of abuse, such as domestic and sexual violence and femicide, is also needed.
In light of this, President Coleiro Preca praised the initiative taken by the University of Malta and by Prof Marceline Naudi when setting up the European Observatory on Femicide, which is working to provide essential data about the most lethal forms of violence against women in Europe.
The President thanked all the academics who have participated in today’s debate as well as the members of Kunsill Studenti Universitarju and the National Youth Council for their valuable contributions.