Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/924080
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2018 News 5 MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S equality commis- sion has said public office- holders like education com- missioner Charles Caruana Carabez must "desist from using sexist language and ste- reotypes". The recently-appointed om- budsman caused outrage over a column published in The Times entitled 'The foibles of women', where a satirical at- tempt to depict women as "flawed creatures" and prone to vanity, backfired spectacularly. The Malta Confedera- tion for Women's Organisa- tions called for his removal, but Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud said it was up to the Government and Opposition to remove the education com- missioner. The National Commission for the Promotion of Equal- ity (NCPE) on Tuesday said that persons holding public office as well as public figures should desist from using sex- ist language and stereotypes and be fully aware of their important role in promoting gender equality in society. "Statistics have repeatedly shown that gender inequal- ity persists across different areas such as those of power and resources. Research also finds that gender segrega- tion in education and the la- bour market remains a real- ity which negatively affects women's economic independ- ence throughout their life cy- cle. "Furthermore, women and girls are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence and sexual harass- ment. One of the root causes of these inequalities are an- tiquated and erroneous, but deep-seated, beliefs concern- ing the different roles and characteristics of women and men. Historically, such be- liefs have led to unequal pow- er relations in society, where women and girls become confined to specific roles and sectors, impeding their full participation in differ- ent spheres and placing them into a dependent position." The NCEP said it was the role of persons holding pub- lic office and public figures to uphold the foundations of a democratic society based on equality by refraining from using sexist discourse and by pro-actively working for the achievement of equality be- tween women and men. The MCWO on Monday accused Caruana Carabez of being strongly prejudiced against women. "Someone who is so publicly biased can only form his opinions and decisions through his sexist, misogynistic and gendered stereotyped view of the world and cannot deal with cases fairly and objectively." The MCWO said the role of Commissioner of Educa- tion within the office of the Ombudsman should instil the utmost confidence and trust to citizens, and should foster values of respect, while giving support to both men and wom- en with impartiality and in- tegrity. "Mr Caruana Carabez cannot perform such a duty," it said, adding that his position was no longer tenable. Equality commission: office- holders must 'desist from sexist language and stereotypes' Charles Caruana Carabez accepting his appointment from Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud YANNICK PACE THE government, through the Health Ministry, has rejected media reports "im- plying" that the government affected extra payments to Vitals Global Healthcare, days before it was announced that the company would be selling the concession it was granted by the government for the running of three of Malta's public hospitals to Steward Health Care. "The Department of Health states that all payments made by the Government to Vitals Global Healthcare during 2016 and 2017 were made as stipulated in the contractual terms signed by both parties and that no extra payments have been made as implied in the published article," read a statement by the ministry. The report, published in the Times of Malta yester- day, stated that days before the surprise announce- ment, the Health Ministry obtained parliamentary ap- proval to pay VGH an extra €18 million for 2017, "over and above" the €16.5 million already paid during the year. It is claimed that two line items in the Health Ministry vote were amended and in- creased, in order to give the hospitals' operators more funds. The approval was granted in a day-long parliamentary session the day before parlia- ment broke off for Christmas recess. Government insists all payments to Vitals according to contract VGH was granted a 30-year concession to run Karin Grech, St Luke's and Gozo General Hospital