10/10/2026
The Malta University Historical Society, in collaboration with the Friends of the National Archives of Malta, invites you to this year’s Godfrey Wettinger Memorial Lecture.
Is-Sieħba: Women’s Activism in 1970s Malta
‘... la nferjuri u la superjuri għalih, iżda daqsu.’
Published between 1974 and 1975, Is-Sieħba was the periodical of the Muviment Għall-Emanċipazzjoni tal-Mara (Women’s Emancipation Movement) in its early years. Active from 1974 to circa 1978, the group was one of the voices pushing for change in women’s lives in Malta. Though both the publication and the movement itself were seemingly short-lived, Is-Sieħba nevertheless captures the MEM’s narrative around women’s rights and equality at a time when Maltese women still faced significant restrictions. Join us as we browse through this periodical’s pages and explore this group's aims, activities and vision for change.
The speaker is Dr Simone Azzopardi, a lecturer in Late Modern and Contemporary History within the Department of History at the University of Malta.
The lecture, which will be in English, is being held at the National Archives of Malta, Santo Spirito, Rabat, at 6pm. The event is open to the general public.