AUTHORITIES have denied a 93-year-old woman a widow’s pension because she had never married her partner of 67 years who was also the father of her eight children, it emerged yesterday.
The government puts the blame for the refusal on the island’s antiquated legislation, whose provisions, a top official said, are currently under review in a bid to bring it in line with current socioeconomic developments.
Cypriot law does not provide for any other form of recognised cohabitation beyond marriage.
But it did not look likely yesterday that anything could be done for the woman before the legislation was amended.
The case was examined by the Ombudswoman, who concluded that the woman had been subjected to “unfair and discriminatory treatment.”
The woman from a village in the Famagusta district, had applied for a widow’s pension after her spouse – who had been making his social insurance contributions as long as he was alive — died in February last year.
The couple had been living together since 1943 and had eight children.
They were not married because they were relatives by marriage – her brother married his sister – and were banned from doing so at the time.
Her application was accompanied with two certificates from the head of the village confirming that the cohabitation had been continuous.
She was rejected by the social insurance services in a letter dated April 21, 2010, prompting her to file a complaint with the Ombudswoman.
She argued that the rejection constituted discriminatory treatment, causing her financial problems since she had always depended on her partner and had no other income.
The head of the social insurance services told the Ombduswoman that the woman was not eligible for a widow’s pension because she had not married the deceased and was thus not considered his widow.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, the Director of the social insurance services Theofanis Tryfonos said the legislation was decades-old and a dialogue was currently underway aimed in updating its provisions to be in line with current socioeconomic developments.
“When the law was passed, women, as a rule did not work, and divorces were rare,” Tryfonos said. “Today, both elements have changed substantially.”
Asked if anything could be done about the particular case now, Tryfonos refrained from expressing an opinion before studying the Ombudswoman’s report in depth.
But he added with reserve: “At first sight however, I am under the impression that the law is restrictive and ties our hands.”
Another dated provision says that if a couple get a divorce after being married for decades and the man marries someone else and dies after a few months, the new wife benefits from the widow’s pension.
He stressed that the ministry had taken the initiative many months ago to start a dialogue with the social partners to bring the legislation up to speed.
Tryfonos said he will put the 93-year-old woman’s case on the agenda at the next meeting of the social insurance council, which is reviewing the system.
In her findings, Ombudswoman Eliza Savvidou said rejection of such applications “constitutes discrimination that cannot be accepted, since … it is not justified convincingly, it is not substantiated sufficiently” and it is not necessary for protecting marriage.
Savvidou reiterated that the legal recognition of cohabitation of people of same or different gender is imperative under the circumstances, since the current legal gap creates inequalities against these people.
