Women’s Right to Vote in Malta
Women’s Day Malta / September 5, (1947)

Women’s Right to Vote in Malta, Women's Suffrage

Women’s Right to Vote in Malta: The Path to Political Equality

Women in Malta gained full suffrage on February 5, 1947, when the British colonial government granted universal adult suffrage to all citizens aged 21 and over, regardless of gender. This significant milestone came after decades of advocacy by Maltese women’s rights activists and marked a crucial step in Malta’s democratic development before its independence in 1964.

Early Women’s Movement in Malta

The struggle for women’s political rights in Malta began in earnest during the early 20th century, emerging within a deeply traditional and Catholic society. The island’s status as a British colony since 1814 meant that political developments were influenced by both local Maltese culture and British colonial policies.

The first organized women’s movement in Malta took shape after World War I, when increased employment opportunities during the war had demonstrated women’s capabilities beyond traditional domestic roles. However, the path to suffrage was complicated by Malta’s complex colonial status, which granted limited self-government while maintaining British authority over key matters.

Key Figures in Malta’s Suffrage Movement

Josephine Burns de Bono (1880-1969)

As the founder and first president of the Women of Malta Association in 1944, Burns de Bono was instrumental in the final push for women’s suffrage. Her organization presented memoranda to the National Assembly drafting the new constitution, explicitly demanding voting rights for women.

Mabel Strickland (1899-1988)

The daughter of Lord Gerald Strickland (a former Prime Minister of Malta), Mabel Strickland leveraged her position as a newspaper publisher and political figure to advocate for women’s political participation. Though sometimes controversial for her pro-British stance, she played a crucial role in advancing women’s rights.

Helen Buhagiar (1888-1975)

As a leader in the Women’s Political Union formed in the 1930s, Buhagiar helped organize some of the earliest direct activism for women’s voting rights in Malta.

The Path to Suffrage

Malta’s journey toward women’s suffrage can be traced through several key developments:

  • 1932: Malta’s colonial constitution was suspended due to conflict between the Church and the colonial government, temporarily halting progress on constitutional reforms including suffrage.
  • 1943-1945: During World War II, Maltese women’s contributions to the war effort strengthened arguments for their political inclusion.
  • 1944: Formation of the Women of Malta Association with women’s suffrage as a primary goal.
  • 1945: The National Assembly began deliberations on a new constitution for Malta, with women’s organizations lobbying for inclusion of universal suffrage.
  • February 5, 1947: The MacMichael Constitution granted universal adult suffrage to all Maltese citizens over 21, regardless of gender or property qualifications.
  • October 1947: The first elections with female participation were held. Two women—Agatha Barbara and Hélène Buhagiar—contested the election, though neither won a seat.

Impact and Early Female Political Representation

Despite gaining the right to vote in 1947, it took several years for women to secure representation in Malta’s legislature:

  • 1955: Agatha Barbara became the first woman elected to the Maltese Legislative Assembly, breaking a significant barrier. She later served as Malta’s first female cabinet minister and, in 1982, became Malta’s first female president.
  • 1962: Mabel Strickland was elected to parliament after years of political involvement through her newspaper empire.

The initial female representation remained limited, reflecting broader social attitudes that continued to view politics as primarily a male domain despite formal equality in voting rights.

Malta’s Suffrage in Regional Context

At February 5, 1947, Malta’s achievement of women’s suffrage placed it in the middle range of European countries:

Earlier than Malta: Several European nations granted women’s suffrage earlier, including:

Similar timing to Malta: Several countries granted women’s suffrage around the same time as Malta:

  • Belgium (1948)
  • Romania (1946)
  • Yugoslavia (1945)

Later than Malta: Some Mediterranean and Southern European countries lagged behind Malta:

Among Mediterranean countries specifically, Malta’s 1947 suffrage date was relatively progressive, coming well before Greece (1952) and Cyprus (1960), slightly after Italy (1945), and around the same time as France (1944) granted universal women’s suffrage.

Factors Influencing Malta’s Timeline

Several factors shaped Malta’s particular path to women’s suffrage:

  1. British Colonial Influence: As a British colony, Malta’s constitutional developments were influenced by British policies. The United Kingdom had granted women’s suffrage in 1918 (limited) and 1928 (equal), creating precedent that affected its colonies.
  2. World War II Impact: Malta’s strategic importance during WWII and women’s contributions to the war effort accelerated recognition of women’s citizenship rights.
  3. Catholic Church Influence: The significant influence of the Catholic Church in Maltese society sometimes created resistance to changing women’s traditional roles, which may have delayed suffrage compared to some Northern European countries.
  4. Post-War Democratic Reforms: Malta’s women’s suffrage came as part of broader democratic reforms implemented after World War II, a period when many countries were expanding democratic rights.

Legacy and Contemporary Context

The achievement of women’s suffrage in 1947 laid the groundwork for women’s broader political participation in Malta, though progress was gradual. After independence in 1964, women’s political representation increased slowly but steadily.

Today, Malta has achieved significant milestones in gender equality in politics:

  • In 2013, the percentage of women in the Maltese parliament reached 14.9%
  • Electoral reforms in 2021 introduced a gender corrective mechanism to increase female representation
  • Following the 2022 elections, female representation in parliament reached a historic high of 22.6%

The journey that began with the achievement of suffrage on February 5, 1947, continues as Malta works toward full gender parity in political representation, building on the foundation laid by early suffragists like Burns de Bono, Strickland, and Chevalier.

Conclusion

Malta’s achievement of women’s suffrage on February 5, 1947, represented a crucial democratic advance that transformed the island’s political landscape. While the timing placed Malta in the middle range of European countries, it was relatively progressive among Mediterranean nations. The persistent advocacy of Maltese women’s organizations and key female leaders, combined with the democratizing trends following World War II, finally secured political equality that would serve as a foundation for further advances in the decades to come.

LEAD is a new initiative launched by the Labour Party to increase female participation in Maltese Parliament

LEAD is being led by MEP Miriam Dalli, after the project was entrusted to her by Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party Joseph Muscat. On launching the project, Joseph Muscat said it does not sit right that half of the Maltese population is not fairly represented in terms of gender, commenting that the representation of women is so low that if one compared the situation to districts it was similar to having no representatives from the South of Malta, or the North of Malta.

This project aims to increase Labour’s female candidates to 50% by the 2027 General Election, it will be the party’s next step in the journey towards feminizing Maltese politics.

To give context to the urgency of the matter, not only on a national level but on a global level, there are only 11 women heads of Government (5.7%) and 11 women heads of state (7.2%) in the world.
> partitlaburista.org/lead-women-in-politics

Facts and figures

Leadership and political participation – [UN Women]
IPU-UN Women in politics map – [IPU]