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Finding space for Romani women within the EU

Publication at Faculty of Humanities |
2017

Abstract

Reviewing the National Roma Integration Strategies (NRIS), this paper is an attempt to navigate avenues of Romani feminist possibilities within the EU, pointing to specific issues Romani women face that necessitate sustained efforts of feminists, both Roma and non-Roma, to attain social change. Geographically, the paper's interest lies in the countries of Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, all of which have considerable Romani populations whose realities are confounded by varying degrees of social exclusion.

Ultimately, there are two pressing issues emerging from the strategies that are particular to women within Romani communities: one of them is the lack of political empowerment and the other one is state support for a more equitable treatment in the reproductive care system. Neither of them are sufficiently stressed in the national strategies addressed in this chapter.

As far as the NRIS reviewed in this chapter are concerned, within the area of health and, in particular, reproductive care, the national strategies missed important opportunities to remedy long-term practices that negatively impacted Romani women.