Malta: The tiny European island of tolerance

[reader]

From the BBC

nspired by a trailblazing transgender model, Malta has become one of the most accepting countries in the world in the past 20 years.

It was a sweltering afternoon at Balluta Bay sometime in the late 1990s. Eager young journalist Ramona Depares was celebrating her first job at a local magazine at the City of London, one of Malta's oldest seafront bars, when a woman walked in. "Everyone stopped talking, openly staring," Depares said. "I remember she was wearing her iconic, massive black hat and a slinky black pantsuit – this was midweek, mid-afternoon, when everyone else was in flip flops. But it wasn't only about her clothes, it was her aura. She behaved like royalty. It was difficult not to be entranced."

This mysterious figure was international Maltese model and trans pioneer Katya Saunders, known to friends as Kaka. As Depares would soon learn, Saunders' life was as compelling as her glamorous career: in the 1970s, she moved to London and transitioned; while in the 1980s she was pictured in Vogue on the arm of Karl Lagerfeld, did photoshoots in New York and modelled for fashion designers Charles & Ron, who still own a store in the Maltese capital Valletta. Rumour had it she'd even hung out with David Bowie and Mick Jagger.

After an introduction, Depares and Saunders started chatting. "I asked whether she would give me an interview," said Depares. "And for years she played cat and mouse with me for this blessed interview, despite bumping into her at parties or fashion shows. She said she'd prefer to have her memoirs published instead."

Eventually Saunders disappeared from public life, having "fallen upon hard times", as Depares put it. Fast-forward to 2019 and the journalist was in the Times of Malta's office when news of her death broke. "I wrote her tribute thinking, well, at least she'd be happy to know that her death made waves across the Maltese media." Depares pictured her "giggling away, enjoying the commotion that she was once again causing".

Since then, Saunders' trailblazing life as one of Malta's first openly transgender public personas has been reappraised on an island that's seen remarkable changes in the last two decades. One of only five nations in the world to have made LGBTQ+ rights equal at a constitutional level, it has held first place for eight years on the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Index, which ranks countries on LGBTQ+ equality. After first visiting Valletta's hilly streets half a decade ago, I've been intrigued by this tiny island nation's unlikely rise as one of the world's most tolerant places.

To examine how this happened, let's start by rewinding to the years after Saunders' birth in 1957. In 1964, Malta achieved independence after more than 150 years of British rule. The Brits had criminalised male same-sex relations, but as a republic, Malta legalised same-sex activity in 1973, with an age of consent of 16, equal to heterosexual sex. In 2001, the creation of the lobbying group Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) helped usher in Malta's inaugural Pride March in 2004, as well as a national gay helpline. The pace quickened in the next decade: Malta was the first country in the EU to ban conversion therapy in 2016, when same-sex marriage was also passed, and the first European state to add gender identity to its constitution as a protected category.

What was Malta's first Pride March like 20 years ago? "Not a big affair," said MGRM's Joe Grima. "It attracted between 50 and 100 people, whereas by [2023's] EuroPride, 38,000 attended the march and concert headlined by Christina Aguilera. We could celebrate how far we came. The laws that safeguard equal rights are now a normal aspect of everyday life in Malta."

These laws were not in place for young Saunders or for other LGBTQ+ people of her era, however. As a result, the MGRM and Malta Council decided to celebrate her legacy by commissioning Depares to write the book Katya: Easy on the Tonic (a nod to Saunders' favourite catchphrase), and curating exhibitions featuring her clothes, portraits and accessories at galleries in Valletta, including one at Valletta's historic cultural hub Spazju Kreattiv (view the online archive here).

Malta has ranked first on the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Index for eight years (Credit: Imago/Alamy)

Continues at

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240130-malta-the-tiny-european-island-of-tolerance

[10tazione]

The country where divorce wasnt possible until 2011 and abortion was illegal in all cases until 2023? Hmmmm

[fedssocr]

it's a fascinating place. I didn't realize how densely populated it is until I went there. I remember how hot is was in the October I visited and have no idea how anyone survives there in summer

[polysome]

Beautiful beaches. However, main thoroughfares can get crowded with (mostly) Brits.