International Women’s Day: ‘Woman’s hour’ that rocked the boat during the 1970s

As the second wave of feminism was crashing across borders in Europe and the US during the 1970s, Pauline Miceli took over ‘woman’s hour’ on the radio – and shocked an audience used to popular recipes, fashion and family advice.

At a time when Maltese women were still very constrained by a society and legal code that kept them servile to their families, Miceli spoke about women’s emancipation, financial independence, family planning, sexuality and women’s bodies.

The previous host was Carmen Carbonaro, a devout Catholic who started the daily woman’s programme with a prayer and centred it around family rearing and domestic duties.

Miceli immediately broke with that, choosing instead to discuss themes revolving around the women’s movement.

“I got a lot of flak from the Broadcasting Authority but I couldn’t water down what I believed in so I kept dishing out information on what was going on abroad, trying to get women to think about their condition,” Miceli, who is now Commissioner for Children, recalled as the world celebrates International Women’s Day.

“We used to discuss a lot of topics, but how economic independence helps you to be emancipated was the message throughout.

“Women...