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The stories of women who work - in the conventional sense of the term - but at the same time perform the unpaid, invisible work of looking after the family and the home, contribute to the awakening of our society, to the visibility and the highlighting of the importance of the role of women in all areas of life.
The above was stated by the Commissioner for Gender Equality Ms. Josie Christodoulou in her speech at the Workshop on: "Women in History and its Teaching", held today at the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute.
The Commissioner stressed that the space and voice that women need is, unfortunately, neither a given nor self-evident. It is for this reason, she stressed, that questions such as "what was the position of women in the time of our grandmothers, what is it today and what we want it to be tomorrow" find answers through the stories of women, heroines of everyday life, who are called upon to fulfil multiple and complex roles. He added:
"The stories of women (herstory), like those of men (history), must be seen and heard over time. They should be known by us and all later generations so that they can be celebrated, analysed and reflected upon. Unfortunately, to this day, women's stories are still presented through a male lens because historically it has been men who have had access and control in the public sphere, in national and international forums, in politics, in employment, in art, in the media. It is no coincidence, moreover, that women have historically been presented in stereotypical roles, as love symbols, as 'witches' of those who did not agree with the establishment, as causes and reasons for conflict. Carefully selected - always by men - heroines were those who were more in line with male role models, according to their own stories (history).
In no way, of course, do we erase history as we know it. Rather, we are enriching history so that we have a better understanding of our identity, of ourselves, of our society."
The Commissioner then underlined the importance that President Christodoulides' government attaches to the horizontal implementation of gender policies. In this context, she referred to actions taken by her Office, in close cooperation with all Ministries and Deputy Ministries, to give space and voice to women. In particular, she referred to the series of campaigns undertaken by the Office of the Gender Equality Commissioner under the umbrella title "Women's Stories", the first of which concerned women in the sciences, while the next ones will cover women in shipping, sport and gradually in all sectors of activity.
She also underlined her Office's support for the Ministry of Education's efforts to strengthen the teaching of Cypriot history in relation to the role played by women in our country. She added that, as part of the holistic approach to promoting gender equality, the Commissioner's Office is promoting the creation of an online library where researchers will be able to find compiled material from studies and research on gender equality and the women's movement in Cyprus. By knowing women's stories, she stressed, we better understand the history of our country and this contributes to the formulation of targeted and more effective policies.
Finally, Ms Christodoulou stressed the importance of deconstructing stereotypes through gender policies and encouraging critical thinking. Together with civil society, the business world, trade unions and women's organisations, the unwavering common goal is to accelerate the promotion of gender equality in all areas of activity, she concluded.
(AA/NZ/EP)
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