First of all, I would like to congratulate the Nicosia Bar Association for taking the initiative to organise tonight's event and thank you for the invitation, which I accepted with great pleasure. Tonight we honour the first women who, through their actions, contributed to the development and foundation of the institution of Justice in our country. We honour women who, for a different era, needed great courage and boldness to enter a male-dominated field. They had to confront social prejudices and stereotypes that they had to overcome or ignore in order to be able to continue. At the same time, they inspired and were role models for future generations of women to follow. Thank you all for all you have contributed and for paving the way for other women.
Today, women make up a significant percentage of law school graduates and are increasingly represented in your profession, and women are gradually entering the legal profession. It is indicative that in our country today, of the 11 members of the Supreme Court, 5 are women. At the same time, however, in conversations I have with women lawyers, they explain to me that they often feel that in order to survive in the field they have to adopt stereotypically masculine attitudes, i.e. those that we traditionally recognize as "masculine". This is a finding in many male-dominated professions, and reflects the fact that gender biases still hold sway, sending the message that there is no room for anything different.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Undoubtedly, the role of women in the legal profession and the judicial profession has changed significantly over time, and that is because some, like the women we honour today, have paved the way. Progress has been made and more can be done to ensure gender equality in these professions. Achieving gender equality in the wider legal system requires a comprehensive and sustained effort at different levels. The fact that there is parity in the participation of women and men in the Supreme Court and an increase in the number of female lawyers and judges, while at the same time the question arises as to whether the laws incorporate the gender dimension to allow for gendered decisions.
My personal belief is that legislations, apart from regulating offences, also regulate the culture, principles and values of a state.
At the same time, talking about cultivating culture, we need to approach the justice sector as a whole, placing it under a gender lens. To cultivate an inclusive justice, free of anachronistic attitudes, we need your input. Let us start today an open dialogue that will lead to a "fair justice" for women.
In this context, the Office of the Gender Equality Commissioner and I personally are at your disposal to further discuss and cooperate in order to, among other things. The aim is for our legal system to ensure that all laws and regulations promote the principle of equality.
- To promote and embed the culture of the principle of equality in the legal system through systematic training of judges, magistrates, barristers and solicitors on gender issues.
- To promote and embed the culture of the principle of equality in the legal system through systematic training of judges, magistrates, barristers and solicitors on gender issues. This will also have the effect of encouraging the reporting of gender-based violence or crimes.
- Promote gender policies to create a supportive gender environment for women to participate and succeed in your profession.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that achieving gender equality is a key priority of the administration of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicos Christodoulides. The effort is of course collective and requires a multifaceted approach in order to review laws and practices that do not ensure the principle of equality.
Ladies, once again, thank you for all that you have offered. Thank you for paving the way for other women.
Thank you very much.
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(NΓ)
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