The first female figures on pedestrian crossing lights have made their appearance in Nicosia, as part of an initiative aimed at promoting gender equality in public spaces.

The presentation took place today on Miki Theodorakis Avenue, in front of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre and the Cyprus Museum.

The installation and operation of the new traffic lights were inspected by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Alexis Vafedis, and the Gender Equality Commissioner, Josie Christodoulou.

In the first stage of the initiative, six female figures will be placed in all provinces, according to Transport Minister Alexis Vafeadis. He described the action as “a small change with big messages”, stressing that “at some stage we will seek to have a balance between male and female figures at traffic lights. We will see how we can balance it.”

For her part, Ms Christodoulou noted that “this is yet another action that reinforces the horizontal promotion of gender equality in everyday life. It breaks stereotypes, especially for young people.”

The Commissioner added that similar initiatives have been implemented in countries such as Switzerland, Germany, and Spain.

At the same time, she said that the idea of launching a competition in schools so that pupils could discuss equality issues and propose a name for the new female lantern figures themselves was being considered.