Discrimination against Roma women in Romania. An intersectional perspective

Abstract

Still nowadays Roma communities in Romania experience social and spacial marginalization from the rest of the population. Numerous documents and reports underline how, as a consequence of the vicious cycle of poverty, discrimination and social exclusion in which they find themselves, they are in greater need of social protection. The article moves from the additional acknowledgment that Roma women’s voices and experiences of subordination and oppression are often overlooked. Too often the different overlapping discriminatory grounds are taken into account separately, without capturing the complexity of the identities and of the oppression they experience. While non identifying patriarchy as an issue having the power to define what Roma culture is, this work contributes to the analysis of the discrimination against Roma women in Romania from and intersectional perspective, taking into account the simultaneous action of ethnicity-based and gender-based discrimination. Moreover, this article demonstrates how intersectionality represents the most suitable analytical tool to tackle the specific situation of this group.

Keywords: Intersectionality, discrimination, Roma, women, Romania.