Women lost in politics: North Cyprus’s 1st female PM

NICOSIA

The first female prime minister of Turkish Cyprus, Sibel Siber (L), meets Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu to take over the post. AA photo

The new prime minister of Turkish Cyprus, Sibel Siber, has praised the role of women in society, expressing her excitement at being the island’s first female prime minister.

“The role of women in our country stands at low levels. We cannot see a lot of women in the top roles. None of the political party leaders are women in our country. It is really exciting for a woman to become the prime minister in male dominated politics. This is exciting on behalf of women and society,” Siber told Anatolia news agency.

Siren also underlined the importance of being a first. “I am honored to be Turkish Cyprus’ first female prime minister, and firsts are always very important,” she stressed. Siber officially started her new duty on June 14 with a ceremony that former Prime Minister İrsen Küçük didn’t attend. Siber who was welcomed to the Prime Ministry office by other bureaucrats said that it would be nice to see Küçük there too.

The deputy became the prime minister of an interim government in Turkish Cyprus following the fall of the government last week. An early election is set to be held on July 28. Siber said that until that date her wish was to successfully accomplish this assignment. She also hailed bilateral ties between Turkish Cyprus and Turkey, saying Turkey and Turkish Cyprus had strong cultural and historic ties.