Dunking lady makes a splash in Larnaca

WHAT DO you call a dunk tank with a young woman at a Larnaca funfair? An instant hit, that’s what.

Except in this case, where certain upstanding citizens of Larnaca took umbrage when the target game made its debut at the weekend’s Flood Festival.

The issue was brought to the fore by Xenakis Kyriakides, who wrote a letter to newspapers complaining of the exploitation of women.

Kyriakides, who was taking a stroll down Phinikoudes Avenue in Larnaca, said he was “shocked” by what he saw.

“I was doubly surprised. It was not just the sight… there were couples, families gathered around, enjoying the show. I couldn’t believe it,” said Kyriakides, a former municipal councillor in the coastal town.

“Out of curiosity, I began asking the people there if it bothered them too. Unfortunately, they said no, it didn’t.

“Then I approached a middle-aged lady, and said to her: ‘What if that were your niece in there?’”

“Oh, but that girl’s Russian,” was the lady’s reply, according to the concerned ex public official.

“That’s what upset me the most,” added Kyriakides, speaking on CyBC radio.

Apparently the dunk pool with the bikini-clad woman drew hundreds of punters, making a killing.

Called to account, Larnaca mayor Andreas Moiseos yesterday said the reaction was “over the top.”

He said the municipality had given a licence to the kiosk for a target-game, but did not know the precise nature of the game.

“Once we heard what was going on, we asked the owner to close it down. He refused, so we sent the police over. The officers checked it out, and deemed there was nothing untoward. That’s the reality,” said Moiseos.

Though acknowledging that some people might find putting a scantly clad woman inside a cage offensive, he added that “this sort of spectacle is common in many countries.”
“I’m not saying it’s wrong or right,” he qualified.

Nevertheless, the mayor pledged the municipality would never again issue permits for similar amusements.

“We are bothered by this, but we aren’t concerned about exploitation of [foreign] women in Cyprus in other areas?” he mused.
??

??

??

??

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.