The first time I really felt it was when my friend told me she was scared to walk home alone after a lecture because some guy followed her on the bus and kept staring. Another friend was told by a teacher to smile more in photos if she wanted to be liked. These are not dramatic stories from abroad. They’re from my phone screen and from my town.
You don’t need a university degree to see that women here still face inequality. Malta has improved on gender equality and actually ranks 13th among EU countries on the Gender Equality Index, with a score of 70.1 out of 100. That sounds like progress but Malta is still below the EU average, and that number covers everything from work to money to violence. It shows we’re moving forward, but we’re not there yet.
Look at violence. According to a big EU survey, about one in four women in Malta who have ever been in a relationship have experienced violence by their partner at some point. Around 11% of women have experienced sexual violence as adults. That’s not just uncomfortable or gross, it’s real danger that isn’t talked about enough in school or at home.
Another set of national numbers shows that in 2024 almost 3,800 people reported experiencing domestic violence. Out of those, about three quarters were women. Those numbers include women who asked for help, which means the actual number might be even higher.
And when we talk about work, things are supposed to be better here than in other countries, but the pay gap still exists. Some reports show the difference in average earnings can be over 24% in certain sectors like finance or real estate. Even if the overall gap is smaller compared to other places, these big differences matter when you’re trying to pay rent or save for your future.
I see a lot of people online saying feminism isn’t needed anymore, that we’re equal now. But statistics and lived experiences don’t match that idea. If equality was already real, would all of these things still be happening at these rates? I don’t think so.
Walking down Republic Street in Valletta or across the University steps in Msida, you can just as easily see women speaking up about these issues as you see girls posting aesthetic outfit pics. There’s a growing wave of young people here in Malta who are not scared to talk about sexism, harassment, unequal pay, reproductive rights, and basic respect. Moviment Graffitti and groups like Voice for Choice are just examples of how young voices are fighting for equal rights, like access to reproductive healthcare and against violence.
Feminism to me isn’t about hating men. It’s about fairness. Anyone can see that women still face systemic barriers. Even though Malta has made legal changes, like criminalising femicide and other forms of gender violence and introducing more measures for equal representation, the real work is in everyday life, where change feels slower.
Some people say things like “girls today have it easy.” Maybe in the sense of having more choices than previous generations. But having choices doesn’t erase the constant pressure to be a certain way, to behave a certain way, to avoid certain spaces for fear of unwanted attention. Surveys among Maltese adults show that traditional gender roles are still pretty strong, which means people expect women to act in certain ways socially and professionally.
In my lectures and in conversations with classmates, I hear us talk about feminism in different ways. Some friends think it’s political, others say it’s personal, but most of us feel like it’s necessary. We see how girls at school and university are interrupted more often in class, or how women are underrepresented in leadership roles both in companies and in politics. Even though women now make up nearly 28% of Malta’s parliament, which is a big improvement, it’s still not equal representation.
I remember one debate about feminism where someone said that inequality is just part of human nature. That kind of thing frustrates me because it ignores how much effort people have put into changing laws, institutions, and norms over decades. Feminism is not against tradition it’s about making sure tradition doesn’t keep women from having the same opportunities as men.
Then there’s the issue of how violence is reported. Some data shows Malta has one of the highest rates of women reporting violence in the EU. That could be seen as a positive sign of trust in support services, but it also unfortunately reflects how common that violence is in the first place.
What keeps me hopeful is how many young people here talk about these issues honestly without making it ugly. When my friends and I have coffee, we talk about pay fairness, we share stories of inappropriate comments we’ve had to deal with, and we joke about how complicated it is to even date when everyone fears crossing boundaries. We also talk about how feminism helps men by challenging toxic norms that affect everyone.
For me, feminism in Malta isn’t some imported idea. It’s rooted in our communities and our real struggles. It’s about making sure the next generation doesn’t have to think twice about walking home alone, about making sure women get equal pay for the same work, about feeling safe in public places, and about having real choices about our bodies and careers. It’s about respecting people of all genders.
There’s no perfect system yet, but feminism is still needed so inequality doesn’t get written off as “just how things are.” We deserve better, and talking about it like this, even in a small article, is part of changing how people think here in Malta, slowly but surely.