A women’s movement has filed formal complaints against Costas Malekkos following allegedly sexist comments made during an Alpha Cyprus television programme.
POGO women’s movement has submitted letters to multiple authorities, including the Minister of Justice, Police Chief, Commissioner for Legislation, Commissioner for Administration, Commissioner for Gender Equality and the President of the Cyprus Radio Television Authority.
The complaints stem from Malekkos’s appearance on the “Sunday Night” show, where, during a discussion about relationship crises with host Christiana Aristotelous, he made several controversial statements about gender roles and marriage.
According to the broadcast, Malekkos told Aristotelous: “If you decide to get married, you must accept each other’s mistakes and stay with your children. If you divorce Efrem in ten years, I will find you and kill you. I don’t understand, has it become fashionable?”
He further stated: “Women have taken the wrong path. Men are men. Full stop. When your man at home isn’t a man, you will divorce him”.
When the host questioned whether men had remained on the right path whilst women had gone astray, Malekkos responded: “A man has the right, because he is a man… You women must accept that the man is the leader”.
POGO’s complaint cites Cyprus’s 2020 law on combating sexism and online sexism, which defines sexist behaviour as public or private actions targeting specific individuals or groups based on gender prejudice.
The law carries penalties of up to one year in prison or fines up to €5,000, or both.
The movement’s letter also references several international frameworks, including the Council of Europe’s 2019 recommendation on preventing and combating sexism, the 1995 Beijing Declaration, and the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
The authorities are expected to review the complaint regarding the broadcast, which aired on Alpha Cyprus on Sunday, December 8, at 21:00.
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