Francesca Fenech Conti

Francesca Fenech Conti is passionate about social issues and has a BA in Social Policy. She is the Founder and creator of the women only facebook group Women for Women (Malta) and the Women for Women Foundation that works hand in hand with other NGOs and businesses to empower and support women, especially single mothers.

Francesca recently also launched Wham.com.mt to provide a much needed space on the local media scene to promote women’s voices and to provide women with a source of information regarding their general wellbeing.

Click here to check out Francesca's full bio as well as a list of all her Wham published articles

decriminalising abortion in malta

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In: News, Women

These are morally difficult issues. Yet in Malta we recognise that criminal punishment is not always the appropriate response to moral complexities. In fact, many issues considered morally “wrong” by some have been removed from the criminal code such as sodomy which until 1973 was considered a crime. This decriminalisation did not mean society declared every aspect of sexuality morally uncomplicated. It meant the state recognised that imprisoning consenting adults for private sexual acts was unjust and disproportionate. The removal of sodomy from the Criminal Code did not “celebrate” it. It acknowledged that criminal law is a blunt instrument, one that should not be usedRead More…

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In: Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health

Miscarriage is an incredibly difficult and personal experience — one that no woman should have to go through alone or without clear information. Yet in Malta, many women are not aware that they have choices when it comes to managing a miscarriage, and often simply follow the instructions they are given without knowing there are different options. This article aims to shed light on the various approaches used locally and abroad, enabling women to feel informed, supported, and empowered to make the choice that is right for them. Based on research and conversations with women and healthcare professionals, this guide outlines the most common methodsRead More…

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In: Education and Careers, Inspirational Women, Women

I recently had the pleasure of meeting up with Ms. Elaine Borg, a General Surgeon with a sub-speciality in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery. She is highly qualified and experienced surgeon who has spent the last few years working both in Malta and in the UK. A lovely, very down-to-earth person. We chatted about women’s health issues, travel, food, cooking, children, COVID, her PhD, and the inevitable guilt of motherhood. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting her in person because, although Ms. Borg is very busy, she tells me, “I appreciate face-to-face contact even more since COVID!” I had a lot of questions for Ms. Borg because I’m alwaysRead More…

HOPE Malta for fertility issues

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In: Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health

Malta has the lowest fertility rate in Europe with Eurostat reporting 1.14 live births per woman from Malta in 2019. Many women in Malta are delaying pregnancy, with 30.5 being the average age of women giving birth to their first baby. Delaying pregnancy for some women may mean increasing the risk of finding it more difficult to get pregnant and have a baby. It usually takes on average a year to get pregnant and couples should not panic if they don’t get pregnant right away. If on the other hand you have been trying for over a year (or 6 months if you are overRead More…

world contraception day 2021

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In: Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health

Artificial contraception empowers girls and women, it allows for us women to plan our lives and to control the number and spacing of our children. However only condoms prevent sexually transmitted infections and diseases that are rampant in Malta. I believe that in Malta we still don’t give enough importance to contraception, especially to condoms and we do not discuss the fact that condoms are still not widely used by many boys and men in Malta. In fact, statistics show that 75% of Maltese sexually active people do not use condoms. Very worrying too is the recent study by the World Health Organisation called theRead More…

social assistance

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In: Lived Experiences, More

Living on social assistance is very hard for a lone mother especially when the other parent is not in the picture… Many single parents (mainly women) with young children find it very difficult to work, not because they do not want to but because they find it impossible to work without any family support. Free childcare, and Klabb 3–16 seem to be touted as the solution to all women’s problems. Whilst these services greatly help many parents especially two parent families, however for those lone parents with multiple children, or children with special needs free childcare, and other such services are all useless when yourRead More…

Maltese stuck in UK

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In: News, Women

Many Maltese citizens stuck in the UK are very annoyed and angry with the Maltese authorities because they have been told that they need to ask for permission to be allowed to visit their families in Malta unless they have all been vaccinated, especially since they now know that Covid numbers in Malta are up to 96 and these, we are told, are all due to unvaccinated tourists mostly students. So, these students were allowed to enter Malta without a vaccine certificate. Meanwhile in the UK numerous young Maltese children who go to school there and have finished school are being told they have to waitRead More…

pregnancy scans and tests available in malta

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In: Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health

Mark Cordina is a Specialist in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Mater Dei Hospital. He is strongly involved in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Ultrasound Department at Mater Dei, supervising and training both doctors and radiographers. He has worked at King’s College Hospital London specifically in the Early Pregnancy and Gynaecology Assessment Unit and then in the Harris Birthright Feto-Maternal Medicine Research centre where he received sub-speciality training in ultrasound and feto-maternal medicine. He is certified by the Fetal Medicine Foundation (UK) to perform First Trimester Screening (Nuchal Scans) and Anomaly Scans amongst other things. He also has a Masters Degree in Maternal-Fetal Medicine withRead More…

decriminalisation of abortion

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In: News, Women

Like you, I was brought up here in Malta and was very anti-decriminalisation. I still remember when living in London in the late 80s I met a friend of a friend who said she had had an abortion. I was horrified, I just could not understand how anyone could kill their baby. I remember watching debates on British TV about abortion time frames, they were debating if abortion should be legal until 12 weeks or later? Again, I was horrified, to me, that was a baby from day one. To me, it was not a discussion about the number of weeks, abortion was the killingRead More…

the right eye by nicole calleja

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In: Fashion and Beauty, Health, Inspirational Women, Women

At Wham we promote women – here’s the next hard working woman in our series – At just 20, Nicole studies, works and also finds time for her passion and to inspire others. Here’s what she had to say about her Instagram space – The Right Eye My page on Instagram is focused solely on creating artwork, reviewing makeup products, and lately giving out helpful makeup tips and tricks. I started my page about 2 years ago, and I have come a long way. As a kid I always had a passion for art and somehow that evolved into various media, including Makeup. My goalRead More…