Grassroots Roma women organizing for social change

Scientific literature has focused on the constraints that Roma women have faced to overcome the racism and inequalities that they and the Roma people as a whole have suffered. However, less attention has been paid to how Roma women organize to challenge this reality. Drawing on a qualitative case st...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Aiello-Cabrera, Emilia|||0000-0002-0005-6501, Amador López, Jelen|||0000-0001-9276-3803, Munté Pascual, Ariadna|||0000-0002-2226-634X, Sordè i Martí, Teresa|||0000-0003-0336-3061
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:216556
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/216556
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3390/su11154054
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Roma women
Inequalities
Grassroots organizing
Social inclusion
Roma feminism
Descripción
Sumario:Scientific literature has focused on the constraints that Roma women have faced to overcome the racism and inequalities that they and the Roma people as a whole have suffered. However, less attention has been paid to how Roma women organize to challenge this reality. Drawing on a qualitative case study about the Roma Association of Women Drom Kotar Mestipen (Barcelona) and specifically on the analysis of one of its activities, the 'Roma women student gatherings' (known as 'Trobades' in Catalan), this article contributes evidence to show how Roma women are fighting to improve their own living conditions and those of their people by organizing at the grassroots level. The communicative analysis reveals the impacts that these gatherings have on the individual and societal levels. First, the gatherings have impacts on the individual level, as many of the women who participate in them are exposed to and embrace new educational projects, thus acquiring more skills to be better prepared to later access the labor market. Second, their impact is also evidenced on the societal level, as the gatherings enhance Roma women's associational life, resulting in new mobilizations and often making women who were once in the shadows become community leaders.