The position of the woman ten years after the enactment of Act XXI of 1993

Abstract

During the course of my thesis I started off by discussing the situation which existed in Malta vis-a-vis spousal rights, from the wife's point of view, prior to and post-Act XXI of 1993. After briefly mentioning the changes which this Act brought about, I proceeded to note the changes which occurred in the ten years which followed. As far as employment is concerned I shall be focusing on the latest amendments since they are in my opinion, the most relevant and least discussed, since other changes occurring in the 1990s and early 2000s have already been covered by previous thesis. In fact, I shall only briefly mention the previous changes. A questionnaire carried out by myself helped me to identify real problems women today still encounter, and realize that certain changes effected over ten years ago, were still unknown by a group of women. During the next chapter I set forth the proposals given by the participants of the questionnaire, and added other proposals which I think are needed, both as regards law and other aspects of society. The concluding chapter includes my remarks as to how certain issues were tackled. I will also discuss an interesting point raised by my tutor Dr. Ruth Farrugia LL.D, about whether it can be said that a change in law brings about a change in society, or must there be first a change in society to bring about a change in law. Throughout the course of my thesis, I have realized that whilst we can not even start comparing the present situation to that which existed in 1993, there are still laws which need changing and citizens who must be better informed about their position at law.