The European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), which will visit Cyprus at the end of May, will give a voice to the women who were raped, tortured, lost their families and have been struggling with their wounds for decades in 1974, at the initiative of MEP Loukas Fourlas (EPP).
On the occasion of International Women's Day, the European Parliament Office in Cyprus held a press briefing today, Friday, at the European Union House in Nicosia, with Cypriot MEP Loukas Fourlas.
The briefing highlighted an issue that had been in the shadows for decades: the abuses suffered by Cypriot women in 1974 by the Turkish army. Mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of missing, trapped and refugees experienced horror, loss and violence, but their voices were not heard as much as they should have. As reported, more than 800 women were raped by Turkish soldiers, hundreds of others were executed even though they were unarmed.
For the first time, at the initiative of MEP Loukas Fourlas (EPP), the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) will visit Cyprus at the end of May to give these women a platform. The aim is to record their testimonies and highlight this crime at a European level.
As Mr. Fourlas said at the press briefing, "next May, on my own initiative, the FEMM Committee will be in Cyprus."
"We will listen to the women who survived war crimes. We will bring the truth to light. A platform will also be given to women who lost or are missing their husbands, their children, to the women who were left holding Thermopylae in Karpasia and the other occupied areas. Our goal is to give a voice to women who were raped, tortured, lost families and have been struggling with their wounds for decades," she added.
On the occasion of tomorrow's International Women's Day, the Cypriot MEP said that he wants to speak about an issue that has remained on the sidelines for 50 years since the Turkish invasion, about those women who were violently silenced, about the women of Cyprus in 1974, who instead of life experienced horror, who instead of protection, experienced savagery, who instead of justice, were plunged into half a century of silence.
"But, this silence is being broken. Here. Today. They were forcibly dragged from their homes, tortured and several of them are on the long list of missing persons. Other women lost their husbands, their children were trapped in the occupied areas. Attila's horrific crimes include the rapes of defenseless women, who got to know the true face of the Turkish army in the worst way," he added.
More than 800 women, Mr. Fourlas continued, were raped by Turkish soldiers, hundreds of others were executed even though they were unarmed.
"We cannot forget. We cannot let Turkey's crimes fade into oblivion. Girls as young as 12, 13, 14, still children, were raped and scarred forever. Women were forced to give birth to the children of their rapists. Others suffered forced abortions, for fear of being stigmatized by society. And those who were left behind? Silent. With bodies damaged and souls full of wounds. And one wonders, why so many years of deafening silence? Why, this crime was so horrific, that not even history dared to write about it. Why, the women themselves carried the shame of a crime that was not theirs. Why, society failed to embrace them, to protect them," he added.
But, the shame does not burden them, points out the Cypriot MEP, emphasizing that it burdens the perpetrators.
"It weighs on Turkey, which 50 years later has not been held accountable for its atrocities. These women had no protection, no mercy from the horrors of war. Because rape was a weapon of war. Because violence was not collateral damage, but part of Attila's strategy of terror to force families from their homes. Because Turkey did not only invade territories. It invaded bodies. It invaded souls. It invaded lives and destroyed them. And 50 years later, we demand the obvious: Recognition, Justice, Memory," he noted.
Loukas Fourlas also said that as a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and Shadow Rapporteur of the Gender Equality Report 2025, he has a duty to highlight this dark chapter.
"And I will not stop until Europe listens, recognizes and demands accountability from those responsible. Next May, on my own initiative, the FEMM Committee will be in Cyprus. We will listen to the women who survived war crimes. We will bring the truth to light. A platform will also be given to women who lost or are missing their husbands, their children, to the women who were left holding Thermopylae in Karpasia and in the other occupied areas," she said.
Our goal, she added, "is to give a voice to women who have been raped, tortured, lost families and have been struggling with their wounds for decades. We will listen to their testimonies, record the crime and bring it to the center of the European dialogue."
It is time, said the Cypriot MEP, for Europe to officially recognize the horror they suffered, demand justice and ensure that such atrocities will never be repeated.
"Fifty years later, silence is not an option. The truth must be heard. The women of Cyprus must be vindicated. Because these women are not numbers. They are wives, daughters, mothers, grandmothers," he noted.
"It is Cyprus that has been bleeding for fifty years. We too must remember. We must not allow them to be forgotten. Because the silence is over. Because 50 years later, we cry out for those who were never able to cry out," he concluded.
Source: KYPE
