Press Releases

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I have accepted the invitation to address this Conference organized by the Senate of Romania, which brings together distinguished speakers and participants who will advocate the importance of gender equality in Romania and abroad. Allow me first to extend, on behalf of all Members of the Cyprus House of Representatives and on my own behalf, our warmest congratulations to the President Ad Interim of the Romanian Senate, H.E. Mrs Alina-Stefania Gorghiu for hosting this event, but mostly for initiating with other fellow women MPs the adoption of legislation on candidate quotas by the Chamber of Deputies of Romania.

Dear colleagues,

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world, particularly in line with Goal 5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, data show that women are underrepresented at all levels of decision-making worldwide, and that achieving gender parity in political life remains a far off goal.

The global average for women in parliaments is currently 25 per cent. Despite the slow progress in advancing women’s participation and leadership in political processes over the last decades, many challenges remain: Central and persisting ones.

Unfortunately, many inequalities related to the political participation and representation of women, are still in place. A blend of social, political, economic and sometimes even legal barriers hinder women’s participation in politics. Women deserve and have the right to participate in and benefit from decisions that shape their own lives. Therefore, low participation is a problem. Inequality in representation and influence in the public sector and political processes is a problem.

The cultural bias and discrimination against women as leaders in the public sphere is intense and it is for these reasons that CEDAW called for temporary special measures to accelerate de facto equality between women and men and to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment. An example of such special measures is quotas and today we know that it is in those countries which have adopted quotas that women’s participation in parliament has increased.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

I think all of us will agree here, that real democracy cannot be achieved until equal representation of women in political leadership and in decision making processes, becomes truly effective. It is important to note that although we have become aware of gender inequalities, the implementation of concrete measures in order to achieve gender parity in the political process remains inadequate in most countries around the world. In other words, there is a gap between public discourse - that has embraced the concept of gender equality, at least in theory - and the reality of the situation, where huge leaps and active commitment still need to be achieved.

Promoting real gender equality lies among my top priorities, as a young politician and the first female President of the Cyprus House of Representatives. Acknowledging Cyprus’ relatively low ranking on the Gender Equality Index, which is indicative of the necessity to improve women’s representation in politics, leadership and decision-making positions, I intend to spearhead efforts to bring about progressive legislative reforms and to mobilise human and financial resources in order to promote gender equality and enable women to better reconcile professional and family life. During my term in office, the Cyprus House of Representatives has adopted important legislation for the criminalization of sexism, harassment, stalking and combating violence against women. Moreover, I have introduced an amendment to the Law ratifying the Istanbul Convention, by which “femicide” has been introduced as a crime per se.

Distinguished participants,

I urge those amongst you who have not read Aristophanes’ famous play, Lysistrata, to do so. The play, tells the story of a highly motivated Athenian woman, Lysistrata, who convinced her fellow Greek women to refuse sexual privileges from their men as a means of forcing them to end the Peloponnesian war. It is a masterpiece in gender relations, a clear example of women’s courage, leadership, originality and wisdom in politics.

I wish you every success in your deliberations. I am confident that the exchange of best practices and the valuable insights of distinguished speakers will further enhance Romania’s efforts to promote and implement the equitable and effective participation of women at all levels.

Thank you. 

(The text as sent by the House of Representatives)