An open letter

Dear General Public,

Being a feminist is not about fighting for superiority, to be higher than men, to have more rights than men. No, nothing of this, feminism is about promoting equality in between both genders. 

Are you wearing pants right now? Well, thank a feminist! Do you have a right to vote? Oh look another feminist is behind this! Can you imagine a life without feminists? A world where being catcalled is the standard? Alternatively, wait! Would you even be allowed to roam the streets alone? Beep: surprise surprise, no!

Imagine yourself living in a patriarchal civilization; you have no say in what gets done from matters concerning the constitution of your country to what you dress! Wouldn’t that be depressing? Until a couple of years ago, men possessed total control over the woman’s body. Meaning, that there was an open check for rapes which lead to children being born out of rape, domestic violence etc. 

In Malta, it’s true that we are not living in an entirely patriarchal society. However, again there is still the stigma of Malta having one of the highest salary gaps when it comes to doing the same job. Yes, we are in 2018, and unfortunately, we still have to deal with all this crap. 

Secondly, have you ever stopped to think: the government still gets to decide what a woman does with her body? Isn’t this a patriarchal controlled agenda? Why should a woman travel overseas to perform an abortion which she deems to be vital? A zygote is nothing less than a cluster of cells that a woman is carrying without intent. Why are we in 2018 and we are still making life in Malta challenging for females? Going through rape is already a traumatic experience as is, let alone traveling to another nation to perform such a necessary procedure? If the woman feels that it’s her way to deal with this circumstance why is the state putting her through this ordeal?

‘Adoption not Abortion!’ This is what a pro-life believer states. Well, let me make this clear. From 2012 until May of this year only eighteen Maltese children have been adopted. So no! adoption, in my opinion, it is not the way forward. It is the woman’s choice to choose what she wants to do with her own body, and no man has a say in that. No man is going to carry the child conceived from such a traumatic misfortune for 9 months. 

Moreover, what quality of life would the child have if the mother is forced to keep him? Post-partum depression is one hypothesis. The other is child-neglect that with no further a due raises difficulties both to children and their carers. Therefore the state should give the woman the freedom of choice. 

We are living in a so-called ‘democratic state,’ if this state really and truly believes in equality it should legalize abortion! I believe that because of our religious views the abortion legislation is kept on the back burner by political legislators here in Malta. This lack of attention is such a selfish deed done by the people who have been elected to serve males and females alike and not a religious organization. 

Should you not consider the option of legalizing abortion than please don’t merely consider yourself a feminist! Doing so personally offends not only myself on a personal level but also feminists in general. Real feminists fight for the rights of woman themselves, this means that although I am fighting for such a cause, I might never benefit from it, but others will. 

I call this being altruistic. Feminists are generous! A real female's fight should be a fight for equality because every woman should believe that every human being is worthy of equal rights.