Situation[editar]
The time of Roma women
Through dialogue, reflection, effort and their growing participation in society, Roma women are providing new meanings to Roma identity; they are becoming role models and generating positive changes, not only within the Roma community but also within society at large.
Considering the increasing relevance given to Roma women over the last years and the changes that are happening, similar to those within society as a whole, Roma women represent another example of the normalisation of the Roma community and its growing inclusion in the Spanish society at all levels.
There are aspects in which the progress and normalisation of Roma women in the society becomes very obvious: their growing motivation as regards training, employment and leisure; the increasing number of Roma women who are entrepreneurs; the growing cohabitation in open and intercultural spaces... All these aspects are generating not only changes within the Roma community, but also within society at large.
Multiple discrimination
Despite these advances, it is necessary to highlight the barriers that Roma women still face. An example is the multiple discrimination that they suffer as an ethnic group within the Spanish society, with a three-fold dimension:
- As women in a patriarchal society
- As members of the worst valued minority
- As member of a population with a culture which mainly associates the gender values with the role of women as mothers and wives, decreasing their chances of promotion.
Because of their heterogeneity, a wide variety of situations, ages, interests and lifestyles characterise Roma women. In order to promote equal opportunities between women and men taking into account this diversity, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano develops projects aimed to achieve gender equality, an element which is present in all its activities.
