Watch: Gender Quotas Are ‘Humiliating’ And Anti-Democratic, Nickie Vella De Fremeaux Warns
Lawyer Nickie Vella De Fremeaux has “strongly condemned” the 12 Maltese MPs who were elected to Parliament via a gender quota mechanism.
“I strongly object to people being appointed to warm a seat in Parliament merely because they are females, because of their genitalia,” Vella De Fremeaux said in an interview with Lovin Malta.
“It is abhorrent and so insulting that I cannot understand how anybody can even fathom to take up this post when other male candidates could have won more votes.”
“They are not democratically elected but are appointed just because they are women.”
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A total of 12 current MPs, six from PL and six from PN, made it to Parliament via the gender quota mechanism.
Asked whether she thinks they have done a good job so far, Vella De Fremeaux bluntly admitted that she has “no idea who they are” and described them as “irrelevant”.
However, she said the most crucial point is that the quota system goes against the very concept of democracy.
“The point is that we are, till today, living in a democratic country, and these people were not democratically elected,” she said.
“Why would they be appointed to such a prominent post where they are taking decisions on our behalf, without being elected and while superseding men who got more votes than them, simply because they are female.”
“I would be humiliated.”
Vella De Fremeaux postulated that the reason many women don’t put themselves up for election is because they are put off by the vicious nature of local politics.
“There was a 60-40 ratio [in favour of men] at the last general election but when it came to the MEP election, it was the women who were in an absolute majority. They don’t want to be exposed to all the nastiness and viciousness of local politics, whereas in Europe it’s more serene and humane.”
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