Reportage
‘United by Pride’ brings together an LGBTQ community against barriers
Cypriots on both sides of the demilitarized zone celebrate Pride events three times a year. This cultural vibrancy, however, reflects a situation that is doubly difficult, rooted both in the community’s struggles and in the island’s broader political problems.
The LGBTIQ+ movement in Cyprus enjoys a level of visibility that is rare in the region: Pride marches and an active queer scene have existed for quite some time, yet what sets Cyprus apart is that Pride takes place three times every year.
Cyprus Pride, which was held on Monday, June 2, in “official Nicosia” – the part of the city controlled by the Republic of Cyprus – comes two weeks after the Pride march in the north, the area occupied by Turkey in 1974. Adding a further layer, in September the event called “United by Pride” gathers the LGBTIQ+ communities from both halves of the divided island for one day inside the buffer zone, the demilitarized strip under United Nations control.
This cultural vibrancy, however, reflects a situation that is doubly difficult, rooted both in the community’s struggles and in the island’s broader political problems. “Life in Cyprus [in the ‘official’ zone] for a queer person is far from easy. Homophobia is widespread and the authorities only put on a show of openness,” explains Theo, 37, a lawyer and co-founder of the Queer Collective. Theo and other queer people, feeling under-represented by Accept – the official organization behind the island’s largest Pride event – decided to create an alternative. “Accept focuses on traditional legal rights and avoids the uncomfortable political issues.”
“Take Eurovision, for instance: we are happy about the visibility, yet we will never compromise on human rights, particularly on Palestine. Furthermore, Accept also includes Turkish Cypriots, but that does not mean it is a truly shared space. The LGBTIQ+ (Greek-Cypriot) community is not immune to nationalism, nor is it automatically progressive.”
For this reason, since 2022 the Queer Collective has been staging the other, unified United by Pride march on the island: “We put the first edition together with just €300,” Theo recalls, “but that event gave a chance to participate even to those who cannot cross the Green Line.” Turkish or Turkish-Cypriot citizens born into Turkish families, as well as students from Africa and from the Indian sub-continent, cannot enter the European zone, yet are allowed into the buffer zone to join the September march.
The spirit behind the two-community Pride event is shared by Queer Cyprus (Kuir Kıbrıs Derneği), a Turkish-Cypriot collective that organizes Pride in the northern sector. “We try to highlight culture, but political issues, such as compulsory military service, take up a lot of our energy,” says Ceyhun, 25, a psychologist and board member of Queer Cyprus. “Pride has grown a great deal since its first edition in 2016 and has become crucial for visibility. But we are still fighting hate speech and, more generally, the constraints that stem from the Turkish-Cypriot republic’s lack of international recognition.”
Queer Cyprus carries out important work with limited resources: since the successful 2012 appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, which struck down the anti-gay laws dating back to British colonial rule, the movement has expanded and now offers safe spaces such as the Hoi Polloi Café in North Nicosia.
However, military service remains a critical issue: in the north there is no right to conscientious objection, and LGBTIQ+ people must endure long and humiliating procedures to obtain exemption. “The army has become ‘queer-friendly’ only in order to avoid recognizing the right to conscientious objection,” says Cosmo, 30, a Turkish-Cypriot artist and performer known in Nicosia for his drag show. “They no longer treat us like mental patients, but in reality they keep marginalizing us.”
Cosmo acknowledges that social attitudes have improved and that young people in the north, in particular, are less afraid of coming out – “Overall, northern Nicosia is a safe place for LGBTIQ+ people” – yet the military issue still has many in the community worried. And while queer people in the south remain active all year, not solely during Pride season, Turkish Cypriots are forced to engage in politics full-time, a pressure that makes it hard to cultivate a cultural life and freedom of expression comparable to what is found elsewhere.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/i-tre-pride-di-cipro-lgbtqia-contro-le-barriere on 2025-06-01