On the evening of 18 May, women from across the island gathered at an UNFICYP intercommunal networking forum to break the silence around a topic that affects every woman. The event brought together four experts. Dr. İçten Kıvançlı and Dr. Effie Mantrali, both obstetricians and gynecologists, who provided medical insights. Hatice Özalp, a pharmacist, explored the body's subtle signals. Alexia Potamitou, a clinical dietitian and nutritionist, tackled menopause, and weight management.
What made the evening significant was not just the expertise, but the very fact that it was happening at all. For Marina Vasilara, UNFICYP Associate Civil Affairs Officer, “the Mission, through its ongoing commitment to fostering dialogue, creates an impartial and safe space where women from all the communities on the island can discuss a deeply personal but universally shared stage of life.”
“For too long, women have been told to endure,” Dr. İçten explained. “These symptoms are not isolated annoyances. They are the alarms of systemic hormone withdrawal.” She noted that menopause affects the heart, bones, and brain. “This is more than the end of menstruation. It changes everything.”
Hatice captured the importance of listening to our bodies. “Before the body screams, it whispers,” she told the audience. “A woman asks herself, ‘What is happening to me?’ Connection before correction.” She urged women to pay attention to key nutrients. “Healing is not always about adding something. Sometimes symptoms are just a conversation.”
Alexia Potamitou addressed one of the most frustrating issues for women in this stage: unexplained weight gain. “Declining estrogen changes how your body stores fat,” she said. “Before menopause, fat sits on your hips and thighs. After menopause, it moves deeper, around your organs.” She warned that this visceral fat increases the risk of heart disease and inflammation.
She also debunked common diet myths. “The biggest mistake is eating too little," she stated. "A coffee and a granola bar is not breakfast. By dinner, your cortisol is spiking and inflammation is rising. You cannot starve your way through menopause.” She added, “What worked before no longer works. That is where knowledge becomes power.”
Dr. Mantrali outlined the medical options available, from lifestyle changes to Hormone Replacement Therapy. "Every woman deserves evidence-based information," she said. “She deserves individualized care and the chance to make informed decisions.” She also stressed the importance of bone health and regular screening.
Throughout the evening, one theme resonated above all: no woman should walk this path alone. “My mission is to ensure no woman walks through menopause alone,” Alexia told the room. “Menopause is normal. Struggling is not. No woman should suffer unnecessarily.”
The event at Ledra Palace showed that even on a divided island, some conversations unite rather than separate. Women's health is not a Greek Cypriot issue or a Turkish Cypriot issue. It is a human issue. For Arzu Samioglu, UNFICYP Associate Civil Affairs Officer: "When women from all communities sit together, share their fears, and nod in recognition at a shared symptom, the divisions of the past feel just a little smaller."
