Cyprus

Cyprus, a former British colony, became independent in 1960 following years of resistance to British rule. The island of Cyprus is divided into the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus, and are separated by a buffer zone (the Green Line) controlled by the United Nations. This division has its roots in ethnic strife between the Turks and Greeks, and became solidified in 1974 after Turkey invaded and occupied about 40 percent of the island. Only the Greek-controlled Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union since 2004, is recognized internationally.

Cypriot life revolves around the central social institution of the patriarchal family with the father enjoying controlling power over the behavior of the other members of the family, especially women, as the preordained “order of things,” legitimized by the religious attitudes and beliefs of the Greek Orthodox Church, which exercise a strong influence on the sexual attitudes and behavior of the people. Working wives and mothers are a relatively new phenomenon in Turkish Cypriot society. Until the post-1974 period, only a handful of women worked outside the home and even fewer had professional educations. After the 1974 war, this traditional arrangement lost its importance, and women's participation in the workforce became vital to meeting their families' needs. The male figure continued to have a strong decision-making role, as the wife became more involved in the family's economic and social choices.

Urbanization and modernization have altered Greek Cypriot attitudes toward marriage. The extension of education has meant that boys and girls meet from an early age and are exposed to modern ideas about social and sexual relations. The large growth in the number of women in the workforce also has released them from strict parental control.

From 1985 to 1989, the country's marriage rate was 9.5 per 1,000, the highest in Europe. Divorce was legal. During most of the 1980s, there was an increase in the number of divorces, from 149 in 1980 to 177 in 1987. The numbers of marriages went from 1,058 in 1981 to 1,162 in 1987.