Labour MEP Dalli Gives Feminism Crash Course To ‘Concerned Housewife’
Labour MEP Miriam Dalli has hit back at an anonymous letter, published in today’s L-Orizzont newspaper, which warned the party’s plans to train women in the art of politics will lead to more marriage break-ups.
The letter, penned by a “housewife from Hal-Ghaxaq”, called for the instant scrapping of LEAD – the Labour Party’s new training academy for aspiring women politicians which is being spearheaded by Dalli.
“A married woman’s role is to take care of her children, her husband and her house and not to get into politics,” the letter read. “If she gets into politics, then her marriage will get ruined sooner or later.”
“Who will take care of her children? Who will wash them, feed them and get them dressed? Who will do the dishes and the laundry, clean the house, do the shopping, give the floor a good sweep and the furniture a good brushing?”
“It is not right for a man to come back home from a day’s work and have to do all of this just because his dear wife is sitting down in Parliament.”
However, Dalli hit back to say her own life experience disproves the contents of the letter.
“Rest assured I manage to take care of my children, wash them and feed them, while at the same time be involved in politics, where I hardly just sit in Parliament and stare into space,” she said. “I have made many sacrifices, and yes, my husband does help me out. Seeing as our children are of the both of us and we live in the same house, we give a helping hand out to each other.”
Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola also stepped into the debate, questioning how such a letter could have been published in a newspaper in this day and age.
The first 70 women who will take part in LEAD were announced last week. The youngest is 17, the oldest is 62, and their average age is 29.
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