‘Public breastfeeding should not be considered taboo’

Public breastfeeding should not be considered a taboo subject and Cyprus needs to change its mentality surrounding it, Akel MP Skevi Koukouma said on Tuesday.

Her comments followed a debate sparked across social media over the past few days when former TV presenter and actress Melanie Stavrou had photos of herself breastfeeding her son removed from Facebook after she was reported.

Although she has since messaged the company to restore her original post, she re-uploaded the same photos wanting to send the message that there is no shame in breastfeeding in public.

Koukouma in a statement said “breastfeeding is a right to children and a natural way to nourish newborns. That is why breastfeeding needs to be protected not just through legal regulations but by changing the mentality and perception in society.”

To this end, Akel is preparing a bill to regulate legislation and protect those who wish to breastfeed in public, she said. The party has already required a special report is prepared on legislation sur-rounding the matter in other countries.

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.