Since then, the pioneering life of Saunders, one of Malta’s first openly transgender public figures, has been reevaluated on an island that has seen remarkable changes over the past two decades. One of only five countries in the world to have made LGBTQ+ rights constitutionally equal, it has held the top spot in the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Index, which ranks countries based on LGBTQ+ equality, for the past eight years. After first visiting the hilly streets of Valletta five years ago, I was intrigued by the improbable rise of this small island nation as one of the most tolerant places on earth.
To examine how this happened, let’s start by going back to the years after Saunders’ birth in 1957. In 1964, Malta gained independence after more than 150 years of British rule. The British had criminalized homosexual relations between men, but as a republic, Malta legalized homosexual activities in 1973, with an age of consent of 16, equal to heterosexual relations. In 2001, the establishment of the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) pressure group helped lead to the inauguration of Malta’s first Pride march in 2004, as well as the creation of a national helpline for gays. The pace picked up over the following decade: Malta was the first EU country to ban conversion therapy in 2016, when same-sex marriage was also adopted, and the first European state to add the gender identity to its constitution as a protected category.
How did the first Malta Pride March take place 20 years ago? “It’s not a big deal,” said MGRM’s Joe Grima. “It attracted between 50 and 100 people, while in [2023’s] EuroPride, 38,000 people attended the march and concert headlined by Christina Aguilera. We could celebrate how far we have come. Laws that guarantee equal rights have become an integral part of daily life in Malta.”
These laws, however, were not in place for young Saunders or other LGBTQ+ people of her time. As a result, the MGRM and Malta Council decided to celebrate his legacy by commissioning Depares to write the book Katya: Easy on the Tonic (a nod to Saunders’ favorite slogan) and organizing exhibitions showcasing his clothing , portraits and props in galleries across Valletta, including one at Valletta’s historic cultural centre, Spazju Kreattiv (view the online archive here).