MIGS - International Women's Day

On this International Women’s Day 2016 the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies reaffirms its commitment working towards the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women.

MIGS was founded in 2000 at the University of Nicosia as the first independent non-partisan non-profit NGO in Cyprus dedicated to the promotion of gender equality.

Over the last 15 years, MIGS has established itself as the main contributor to the intellectual, political, and socio-economic life of Cyprus, as this relates to issues of gender using a multidisciplinary approach and in collaboration with other institutions. MIGS has been at the forefront in changing social norms and combating gender norms and stereotypes through research, awareness raising, training and education, as well as policy lobbying and advocacy on a national and European level.

Since 2000 MIGS has implemented over 35 projects related to gender equality and women’s rights funded by the European Commission, the U.S. State Department, EEA Civil Society Grants, the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Global Fund for Women, the Mediterranean Women’s Fund, the European Science Foundation, and the European Audio Visual Agency, among others. Through these projects and activities, MIGS has pioneered significant changes in society including changes in legislation and policy in relation to women’s rights such as trafficking in human beings, violence against women, and women in decision-making, and has been at the forefront of promoting public dialogue and debate on issues formerly taboo in Cyprus.

However, significant challenges remain as gender equalities continue to pervade in all sectors and on every level. Such challenges include but are not limited to violence against women and girls that has reached pandemic proportions, the persistent gender gap in wages and in pensions, women’s under-representation in economic and political decision-making, and the continuing human rights violations against migrant and refugee women.

In 2016 MIGS will give visibility to its demands and its vision through different actions including:

• United to End FGM E-Learning Platform (www.uefgm.org): An online knowledge platform aiming to improve the support and treatment offered to women and girls in Europe living with or at risk of genital mutilation, by encouraging a more specialized gender- and culture-sensitive approach.
• Time to ACT: Strengthening Capacity for Gender Parity in Political Decision- making in Cyprus, which aims to effectively promote women’s leadership and active participation in decision-making at all levels, through the mobilization of women’s organisations and NGOs and working with political parties.
• Gender Equality Awareness Raising against Intimate Partner Violence (GEAR against IPV – II) which aims to contribute to primary and secondary prevention of intimate partner violence among youth through interventions in secondary schools.