Nicosia: Equality Commissioner Josie Christodoulou highlighted the need to mainstream gender into national and foreign policy, promote women’s participation in public life, dismantle gender stereotypes and ensure that the principles of equality are upheld in all sectors, including defence and security. Addressing a seminar Tuesday, the Commissioner noted that in Cyprus, the question of peace and reconciliation is deeply personal, adding that “we know from our own experience that the voices of women must be heard in these processes, not as an afterthought, but as an essential part of the dialogue”.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Christodoulou noted that in Cyprus, through the use of the tool of gender mainstreaming horizontally and through specific actions that have already been implemented in the context of the National Plan, gender equality is being promoted in security and defence, in civil defence, in foreign affairs and in competent government departments while public awareness actions are being taken.
She also referred to the government’s commitment for the inclusion of women in peace and security building, inter alia, the decision to allow voluntary military service for women in the National Guard and the fact that for the first time in the diplomatic history, the permanent secretary of the MFA is a woman while 10 women lead key directorates and departments and 8 lead diplomatic missions abroad.
Commissioner Christodoulou also noted that peace is not only the absence of war; it is the presence of justice, dignity, and equality. “And if half the population is excluded, then peace will always be incomplete. The world made a promise to women 25 years ago. It is past time to deliver”, she said.
She also referred to 2023 UN data according to which women made up about 9.6% of negotiators, 13.7% of mediators, and 26.6% of signatories in over 50 peace and ceasefire agreements. In the same year, she said, women’s participation in peace processes led or co-led by the UN was about 16% of total participants in those processes.
“These figures reflect not a lack of will or talent among women, but rather the persistence of traditional masculine and patriarchal structural barriers, social norms, and institutional cultures that marginalise them. This must change. We must move from acknowledging the importance of women’s participation to safeguarding it through policy, practice, and political will”, she concluded.