Honoring the legacy of Cyprus's first female journalist and her generation

Maroula Violari-Iakovidou, born in 1937, is recognized as the first female journalist in Cyprus. She began her career in the summer of 1955, immediately after graduating from the Pancyprian Gymnasium at age 17. The Union of Cyprus Journalists recently organized a tribute event marking her 70 years in the profession. Violari-Iakovidou belongs to a notable generation of journalists, mostly born in the 1930s, who started their careers covering the EOKA struggle from 1955 to 1959. In 2011, the Cyprus Parliament honored this group, which includes Fanos Konstantinidis, Andreas Hatzipapas, Giorgos Leonidas, and Alex Efthyvoulou. During that ceremony, then-Speaker of Parliament Marios Garoyian noted their role in documenting the history of the Republic of Cyprus, including the 1960s, the 1974 Turkish invasion, efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, and the country's accession to the European Union.