On International Women’s Day 2024, UNHCR and the European Commission Representation in Cyprus organized a roundtable discussion to shed light on the challenges that refugee and asylum-seeking women encounter in Cyprus. To put the ground the event in the human experience, two refugee women shared their stories, captivating the audience. For its part, Caritas Cyprus contributed a grassroots perspective to the panel that included Mr. Yiannis Nicolaides, Permanent Secretary of the Deputy Ministry of Welfare; Mr. Aristos Tsiartas, Chairman of the Ministry of Justice’s National Coordinating Body on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Ms. Susanna Pavlou, Director of the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies. In her opening remarks, UNHCR Representative Katja Saha emphasized that refugee women need a fair chance to rebuild their lives. “We need to pave the way for a society where every woman, regardless of her journey, walks in dignity, strength and freedom.”
