Manuel Dimech and ‘Il-Bandiera tal-Maltin’ : a feminist approach

Abstract

Malta as a British crown colony (1813-1964) is a case study in the inter-relations between the foreign and the endemic, the global and the local, the British and the Maltese. Malta’s long colonial history is indeed an intriguing narrative of collaboration but also confrontation, among sections of the ruled and the rulers, as manifested in the evolution of the political sphere, economic contacts and social relations.1 That a section of the Maltese political body started, and kept stepping up, the struggle for political liberties and representation throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is well-known.2 That among the forces of opposition, Manwel Dimech struck out from his contemporaries for publicly calling out the British for their despotic rule by demanding the independence of Malta, has also been explored extensively . Yet, Manuel Dimech’s contribution was particular for more than one reason. Abrasive towards the establishment, he was equally opposed to the local Catholic Church, which he accused of stifling the potential of a population that was left deeply set in its fatalism. Along with the struggle against the alleged tyranny of a foreign master and local Church, Dimech also fought tooth and nail against such social ills as ignorance, apathy, injustice and social discrimination, among others. One of the aspects he championed was the emancipation of women, something which in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Malta further set him apart from the rest of society to the extent of being ostracised. This dissertation seeks to explore Dimech as a proponent of female emancipation through an analysis of his writings, his actions and the opportunities he created to the same end. The first chapter introduces the two protagonist subjects of this study: Manuel Dimech and female emancipation. The former is set in the context of Malta in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century political sphere, while the latter is placed against the backdrop of international first wave feminism, feminist activism in the British empire and the situation of Maltese women at the turn of the century. This is followed with an in-depth analysis of Dimech’s controversial ideas on female emancipation in Chapter 2. The objective is to explore the ways and extent to which Dimech spread his diverse ideas on female emancipation through a study of numerous editions of Il Bandiera tal Maltin and his poems, novels and aphorisms. Chapter 3 directs the attention to women themselves: their participation in Dimech’s organisation Ix Xirca tal Imdaulin, their perception on the subject of emancipation, their writings in Il Bandiera, and the acquired agency through the opportunities presented to them. Given the strong reaction that Dimech’s actions provoked from the Church, the fourth chapter is an exploration of the Church’s counteraction on the subject of women’s development. This is achieved through a rigorous study of two pastoral letters issued by the Bishop, and the book Il Kerk ta' d-Demoniu Micxuf f' Malta. As by way of assessing whether there was a form of continuation in the fight for female emancipation after Dimech’s death in 1921, this chapter proceeds with an analysis of numerous editions of Il Ħmar and Il Ħmara where letters from correspondents and adverts helped shed light on the state of women in relation to their roles in Maltese society in the 1920s.