The Romani Women’s Movement

Susan Gal, Mae & Sidney G. Metzl Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology, of Linguistics, and of Social Sciences, University of Chicago

This 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, Nijmegen

This 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 Netherlands

The 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.