THREE CHEERS FOR THE WOMEN!

March 8 is International Women's Day. Fredsarkivet (the Swedish Peace Archives) would therefore like to take this opportunity to pay special tribute to all the women who have participated in international peacekeeping missions.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus, UNFICYP, which is also the focus of this year's Veterans Day commemorations, was the first Swedish military mission in which women were permitted to serve in the field.

Positions such as radio operators, medical personnel and postal workers were among the roles that women could now apply for for the first time.

In 1989, women were formally granted the opportunity to serve in all branches of the Swedish Armed Forces, although a small number of women had already gained access to certain military professions as early as 1980.

Today, women make up approximately 18% of the Swedish Armed Forces.

In the photograph, we can see a radio officer from Battalion 84C in Cyprus in 1984. During this period, the Swedish peacekeepers were assigned to a district on the eastern side of the island, with their main base, Camp Victoria, or “CV,” located in Larnaca.

Larnaca was also home to battalion headquarters, under the command of the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Wigforss.