Freedom for Rose Spiteri: A Case of Women's Activism
Schedule
Thu Mar 05 2026 at 06:30 pm to 07:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Knisja tal-Gizwiti, Triq il-Merkanti, Valletta, Malta | Valletta, MA
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On Women’s Day in 1982, a protest walk was held in Valletta calling for the release of Rose Spiteri, a mother who had been imprisoned on charges of bigamy. Her case captured public attention across the island: while many expressed sympathy and support, others cautioned against extending clemency. Min-Naħa tan-Nisa (MNTN), a left-wing activist organisation committed to the progressive emancipation of women in Malta, became her leading advocate. Spiteri’s case, at the intersection of marital breakdown and social welfare, further highlighted MNTN’s commitment to pursuing legal reforms that would safeguard women’s rights.
This lecture examines the Spiteri case within the broader context of Malta’s fledgling but increasingly assertive feminist activism in the late 1970s and early 1980s, positioning it as a revealing episode in the history of early women’s mobilisation on the island.
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Simone Azzopardi is a historian of modern Malta, with particular interests in British imperial policy, gender history, and global history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She holds a BA in History (First Class) from the University of Malta, where she wrote her dissertation on the Grand Harbour Extension Project of the 1860s, and an M.St. in Global and Imperial History from the University of Oxford. Her Master’s research investigated discourses of imperial benevolence in interwar Malta, with a focus on the politics of de-Italianisation, Anglicisation, and the suspension of self-government in the 1930s.
She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Malta (2025), with a thesis examining the evolution of women’s emancipation in Malta from the 1960s to the late 1980s. Her research engaged with key developments in education, labour, politics, and civil society, situating the Maltese experience within broader debates on gender, modernity, and postcolonial transformation. She currently serves as Vice-President of the Malta University Historical Society and of the Malta Historical Society. In addition to her academic work, Azzopardi is active in public history and environmental advocacy. She is a regular contributor to media discussions on Maltese history and is co-founder and Chairperson of Għawdix, a Gozo-based NGO committed to sustainable development and heritage preservation.
Speaker:
Dr Simone Azzopardi
University of Malta
Entrance is free but donations are welcome.
Access is from Archbishop Street
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Where is it happening?
Knisja tal-Gizwiti, Triq il-Merkanti, Valletta, MaltaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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