‘Mothers Find It Difficult To Balance Family And Work’, PN MP Says Amid Backlash For Bringing Daughter To Parliament
After facing some backlash in response to bringing her daughter to parliament, one young, female MP has given her answer.
Julie Zahra addressed the matter on social media, wasting no time answering persons who frowned upon the act while highlighting the gaps in society’s understanding of equality.
“With great interest, I began reading the discussions that came after I brought my daughter to parliament last Friday,” she wrote.
“Aside from the insults and complaints, even towards my four-year-old daughter, I am satisfied that I was able to raise awareness about the role of women, as mothers in the world of work.”
During a parliamentary session, images of Zahra and her daughter – who she referred to as her little “assistant” for the day were shared on social media.
Whilst being praised by many, others who responded to the images on social media seemed to have received the act negatively.
“Parliament is not childcare,” said one man.
“A political party made of children (Partit tat-tfal),” said another.
In her answer, Zahra said that the argument shouldn’t be about whether parliament is the right place to bring kids. But rather, that we, as a society, recognise the realities of the many thousands of women – mothers – that find it difficult to balance between their family and career.
“This isn’t a problem that exists in parliament alone, but in many places of work too, in Malta. And if we really want to be an inclusive society, we need to guarantee that every mother who chooses to continue working has every means to do so,” she added.
“If not, while saying that we want equality, we would be alluding that once a woman has children, her place would be in the home.”
Internationally, more and more female politicians have made it a point to bring their young children to work with them in an attempt to normalise it.
In 2018, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden was the first female world leader to bring her baby, three-month-old Neve Te Aroha, to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In the UK, Jo Swinson MP became the first MP to take her baby into a debate in the UK House of Commons. And in a first for the Australian parliament, Senator Larissa Waters breastfed her daughter Alia Joy during a vote in May 2017.
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