Hi all. I hope you had an interesting weekend with families and got up to something interesting or good for you. The weekend is our favourite time to unwind and get some special things done. I personally had an extremely eventful one with Sunday spent with my family to get some well-needed rest and plenty warm hugs from my baby girl!
Today I begin the week with a message to pass on to both women and men out there who follow my blog or who have just checked in today. Due to the fact that I was one of the several women who participated in a march in Malta’s capital city this weekend with Women for Change Malta to help raise awareness about women’s rights in the community, I thought it a perfect opportunity to verbalise a few thoughts of mine and share them with some gorgeous photos shot in Dubai with this daring Guy La Roche outfit from The Outlet in Sliema Malta.
Makeup & Hair: Jean Zammit
Photography: Mirjana Zigic Khairallah
Location: Jumeirah Zabeel Sarey, Dubai
Some 250 attendees led a march through Republic Street, wearing purple feather boas, carrying placards, blowing whistles and yelling “Equality Now”. What unites all the women and also men who attended the event is their remarkable drive and boldness to bring about peaceful change and stand up for women’s rights, both locally and globally, even when faced with violence and domination. During the live talks, we heard many interesting stories about how women are faced with challenges every day, just because they are not respected enough. Thank you to all these women who constantly give their time and energy for the benefit of other women out there! We cannot thank you enough!
Gender Equality
Gender equality, also known as sex equality, gender egalitarianism, equality of the genders, is the view that everyone should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on their gender. It is at the very heart of human rights and values and yet millions of women around the world continue to experience discrimination.
• Certain laws and policies forbid women from equal access to land, property and housing
• Economic and social discrimination results in fewer and poorer life choices for women, rendering them vulnerable to human trafficking
• There are gaps in salary packaging for men and women for the same vacancies offered
• Gender-based violence affects at least 30% of women globally
• Women are denied their sexual and reproductive rights
• Women’s crucial role in security and peace is often overlooked
• Moreover, some groups of women face some form of discrimination – due to factors such as their age, ethnicity, disability, or socio-economic status – in addition to their gender.
I wish in my heart that gender stereo types will stop, so that women are no longer viewed in the light of what women “should” do and are instead seen for who they are: unique individuals, with their own needs and requirements.
At the work place, in the household, in a relationship, being a parent – there are challenges to be faced by women and I hope that this will change.
Women Less Paid at the Job
This point in particular is one I have at heart, and despite the fact that I now manage and run my own business, and I have my own income so salary is not an issue, I wish to help other fellow women to stand up for their rights more because for over a decade I have worked very hard and earn salaries that were inferior to the men’s salaries and I had less attractive packages offered to me. Why? Because I was a woman in a man’s world?
I do admit that there have been huge changes for women in terms of employment in the past twenty years in Malta, with women moving into paid employment outside the home in ways that their grandmothers and even their mothers would never dream of in their time.
There are now more high-profile women chief executives and there is a small but increasing number of female presidents. In Malta, we have a female president Her Excellency Marie Louise Preca who is doing a fantastic job. I would love to meet her in person one day!
Women are moving into jobs that used to be done by men. Yes! And women working in factories or simple jobs have more choice and independence than if they remained at home. They have a choice!
As individual workers they experience a liberating or “empowering” impact of earning a regular wage, and of having increased autonomy over their economic lives; however at the same time many are also well aware of the fact that their work is low paid, both in comparison with male workers but also with women workers employed in more industrialised countries.
This contradiction is widespread – although more women are working, they are often still worse paid than men, in part-time jobs or in the huge informal employment sector with little protection and few rights. In many places, the increase in women working is simply driven by the necessity of having two wages to make ends meet. I appeal to companies to respect women’s skills and dedication and pay women their due package and women out there, please do not be shy to ask for a salary four years down the line when you know your company needs your skills and experience and you are not so easily replacable! Stand up and be strong –
Do it for yourself as a woman.
There are many points we can touch on including verbal abuse but it will take many other conversations which are too heavy in one blog I think. My main intention this morning was to simply to attract your attention in my usual style conscious way blogging in a constructive manner, in the hope that some of you out there are willing to do small changes for the best of yourself and our daughters, the women of the future.
Love and light to all xxx
Grazielle
Blogger at www.graziellecamilleri.com
I was wearing:
Guy La Roche @ The Luxury Outlet
Jewellery: 202 Jewellery
Makeup & Hair: Jean Zammit
Photoshoot Location: Jumeirah Zabeel Saray , Dubai
Photography: Mirjana Zigic Khairllah
