Women to protest Varosha reopening

Women across the island irrespective of political affiliation will join their voice on Sunday to condemn the re-opening of Varosha in a protest organisers hope will mark the beginning of more female-based initiatives.

Responding to the recent re-opening of part of Varosha in the north as well as the election of Ersin Tatar election as Turkish-Cypriot leader, women will gather at Dherynia crossing point this Sunday at 3pm demanding a solution to the Cyprus problem.

“We call on everyone who feels that there is a visible danger, which will not stop in Famagusta but will continue, to participate” said one of the organisers, Skevi Pashia of Pogo movement. “People must react, because only together can we be taken seriously,” she added.

Women will be carrying a large banner demanding “Freedom, return, peace and reunification of our country”, which is the slogan of the protest. A Cyprus and a European flag will also be held at the protest, but no other flags or signs that show any political messages will be allowed, Pashia said.

Some women will be holding small papers with the names of the villages in the non-government-controlled areas.

“We, the older generation felt that we wanted to solve the Cyprob so as to not pass it on to the next generation,” Pashia said.

But as time was passing by, solution became harder to achieve as well as the thought for cohabitation with the Turkish Cypriots after a federal solution, she added.

“We cannot go forward if we are caught up in the past,” Pashia said.

But reminiscing the past, Pashia said that women used to unite their voices and fight for various issues, especially when it came to the Cyprus problem. This slowly ended before the 1990s, according to Pashia.

“We are trying to start other initiatives with all the female organisations” she said.

The most recent joint protest by women was last March. Under the slogan “It’s time”, women across Cyprus formed human chains outside their workplaces to protest against violence and for gender equality.

According to Pashia, female organisations, despite their differences when it comes to politics, somehow manage to find common ground.

“Our decision-making centres must hire more women” Pashia said adding that if more women were at the discussion table “the Cyprus problem would have been solved by now.”