'The personal is international' : the position of Maltese women in national and international public spheres

Abstract

Personal matters are political and have international implications. This has been argued by feminist authors like Hanisch and Enloe. This dissertation explores how personal and national processes impact on International fora. It will be argued that domestic family arrangements are the main barriers for women's involvement in the national public spheres and in international relations. Women have found it difficult to be represented in national Parliaments and cabinets. In fact it is only in these last twenty years that in some countries women have managed to make relative progress in these fields. Even worse has been the representation of women in international relations. In fact, since its inception at the end of World War One, the discipline of international relations has been dominated by men, and with some exceptions, women were left out. Malta is one clear illustration of this, because, it has one of the lowest female representation in the national Parliament despite the fact that Maltese women consists of 51 % of the electorate and were among the first that obtained the right to vote and get elected. On the international sphere Malta has only two female Ambassadors and is the only country in the European Union that has no female representation in the European Parliament. Given the lack of women in these fields, this study will examine the obstacles and situational constraints women face to enter the public sphere.