Romani Women’s Movement

Angéla Kóczé is Assistant Professor of Romani Studies and Academic Director of the Roma Graduate Preparation Program at Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.Violetta Zentai is co-director of the Center for Policy Studies at the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.Jelena Jovanović is Policy and Research Coordinator for the European Roma Grassroots Organizations (ERGO) Network, Brussels, Belgium as well as Research Affiliate of the Center for Policy Studies at Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.Enikő Vincze is Professor at Babes-Bolyai University and housing activist in Cluj, Romania.

Susan Gal, Mae & Sidney G. Metzl Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology, of Linguistics, and of Social Sciences, University of ChicagoThis pioneering volume refocuses scholarship and activism in striking ways. The authors are as knowledgeable about feminist and gender theory as about the political dilemmas of activism. Filled with fresh, critical insights for productive alliances, the book is innovative in genre. Some chapters, inspired by postcolonial thought, offer sharp analyses of the Romani women's movement. In others, activists and scholars reflect together on their motivations and differences of position, identity and vision. Facing inward, the book courageously dissects tensions within Romani communities and among differently placed women. Facing outward, it locates Romani gender politics within European national and transnational contexts, in a regime of non-governmental organizations. Mieke Verloo, Professor of Comparative Politics and Inequality Issues, Radboud University, NijmegenThis much needed contribution is unique in three ways at least: as a novel and specifically European contribution to anti-racist scholarship; as a very fine-tuned, empirical and exemplary contribution to political intersectionality integrating race, sex, gender, sexuality and class; and as a solid scholarly illustration of giving voice to Romani feminist activists. Huub van Baar, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany, and University of Amsterdam, the NetherlandsThe Romani Women’s Movement volume makes a key contribution to the field, enriching and revitalizing debates about the importance of theories and practices of structural and political intersectionality for an adequate understanding of the crucial role that the Romani women’s movement has played in the contemporary struggle for justice, equality, rights, and recognition for Romani women and men. This timely and important collection brings together a team of internationally pioneering scholars who themselves have played a vital role in the movement and who analyze its history, challenges, and prospects in the broader context of feminist, gender, Black, subaltern, and LGBTQI theories, practices, and movements.

• AcknowledgementsForeword Margareta Matache Introduction Romani Feminist Critique and Gender PoliticsAngéla Kóczé, Violetta Zentai, Jelena Jovanović, and Enikő VinczePart I Social Categories and AgendasChapter 1 Missed Opportunity or Building Blocks of a Movement? History and Lessons from the Roma Women’s Initiative’s Efforts to Mobilize European Romani Women’s ActivismDebra Schultz and Nicoleta BițuChapter 2 Negotiating the Identity Dilemma: Crosscurrents Across the Romani, Romani Women’s and Romani LGBTIQ MovementsLucy Fremlová and Aidan McGarryChapter 3 Gender Relations and the Romani Women’s Movement in the Eyes of Romani Men: Towards the Potential for Transversal PoliticsJelena Jovanović and Violetta ZentaiChapter 4 Heroines of Ours: Between Magnificence and MaleficenceJelena M. SavićPart II Linking the Personal and the PoliticalChapter 5 Towards an Anti-Racist Feminism for Social Justice in RomaniaCarmen Gheorghe, Letiția Mark, and Enikő VinczeChapter 6 Romani Women’s Friendship, Empowerment, and Politics: Views on Romani Feminism in Serbia and BeyondVera Kurtić and Jelena JovanovićChapter 7 Untapped Potential of Romani Women’s Activism in Contemporary Europe: Czech RepublicJamen Gabriela Hrabaňová and Gwendolyn AlbertChapter 8 Romani Gender Politics in Hungary and Feminist Alliances in PracticeLídia BaloghChapter 9 The Dilemmas of the Romani Women’s Movement in Bulgaria: From Assimilation to Empowerment?Teodora KrumovaPart III Transnational InspirationsChapter 10 Emancipation and Passionate Politics: Impact of Various Feminisms on Central and Eastern European Romani Women’s ActivismAnna Mirga-KruszelnickaChapter 11 The Challenges of Kalí NGOisation after Francoism: Rethinking Activism in and beyond Spain Patricia Caro Maya and Sarah Werner BoadaConcluding remarks: Promises and Prospects of the Romani Women’s Movement in Central and Eastern EuropeAlexandra Oprea Carol Silverman List of ContributorsIndex