Solidarity networks that challenge racialized discourses: The case of Romani immigrant women in Spain

Abstract

In the midst of the global financial crisis and in the 'anti-race era', Europe has witnessed a revival of deeply racialized discourses targeting the Roma, leading to new discriminatory practices and legitimating existing ones in many social domains. While westward Roma immigration has spurred these discourses, it has also favored the emergence of invisible grassroots reactions against them that need to be further analyzed. Drawing on interviews with migrant Romani women, this article aims to shed light on these unknown processes, as experienced by women in Romani women-based solidarity networks. Data show that these networks help the women to access basic social facilities, while also challenging the abovementioned racialized discourses.

Exploring the Barriers: A Qualitative Study about the Experiences of Mid-SES Roma Navigating the Spanish Healthcare System

“…If anti-Roma prejudices and stereotypes are deeply rooted towards the Roma in general, as previous literature evidence indicates, they are still more rooted towards Romani women, which are seen as subjected to men and only dedicated to the care of children [ 49 ]. Furthermore, looked at from our communicative approach, some works conducted from a culturalist approach [ 50 ] portray Romani women’s bodies as highly sexualized and exoticized, a view which often fosters the western perception of the Roma culture as chauvinist and stereotyped instead of focusing on how Romani women are exerting their human agency in many aspects of their lives [ 51 ].…”

Grassroots Roma Women Organizing for Social Change: A Study of the Impact of ‘Roma Women Student Gatherings’

“…Roma women are frequently portrayed in the mainstream media and 'exclusionary research' as subordinate to Roma men and displaced to the private sphere. However, Roma women are leading many processes of change within their families and communities by building a discourse around a Roma feminist identity [14,20] and by using education to challenge gender relations and overcome inequality [21]. An example of this is the increasing participation of Roma women in public spaces to defend their rights by condemning, for instance, any type of racist attack that occurs in Europe against Roma communities; another example is the explosion of scientific work that has examined this social reality and revealed the diversity of the Roma women's movement [15].…”

“…Therefore, in this article, we focus on presenting and discussing one specific activity organized by the Roma Association of Women Drom Kotar Mestipen, namely, the intergenerational Roma women student gatherings, or 'Trobades' (the Catalan name), to better understand how Roma women are leading transformations at the grassroots level and the impact their actions have not only on their own lives but also on those of their people and on the course of Roma feminism. The distinguishing trait of this association and the Roma women students' gatherings is that they are organized and run by a group who we define as 'grassroots Roma women', who have been triply discriminated against: for being women, for being Roma, and for having low educational levels and lacking educational certificates [12][13][14][15]. As for other ethnic minority women-such as Muslim women [16] or indigenous women [17]-for Roma women, their ethnicity, their socioeconomic status, and, in some cases, their migrant background intersect with their gender, resulting in a myriad of inequalities that they have to confront.…”

“…In this article, we contribute to the scientific literature in the field of Roma and women's studies. We do so by providing evidence of how these "other" Roma women, to use Puigvert's terminology, are shaping a Roma feminism that is inclusive and aligned with dialogic feminism [14,18,19]. In turn, they are opening up new opportunities for women and being a force for social change for all Roma people.…”

Pathways to Equitable and Sustainable Education through the Inclusion of Roma Students in Learning Mathematics

“…This 'picture' use to appear in what Chronaki [26] and others [27] call 'gypsiologists'. According to them, the gypsiologist discourse tends to naturalize Roma images based on prejudices and stereotypes with no real evidence [28][29][30][31][32].…”