Romani Gender Politics in Hungary and Feminist Alliances in Practice

This Paper illustrates the development of the discourse on Romani gender politics in Hungary through a series of interviews with a key female Romani activist. By offering an insight from a special point of view into the Romani political activism as well as into the Hungarian feminist movement, it will discuss the role of Romani women in defining the agenda and provide an overview of gender issues supported by both movements. The analysis identifies two key phenomena in the field of political intersectionality. Firstly, there is a sensible avoidance on behalf of the Romani women’s movement to apply confrontational approaches towards gender inequalities within Romani communities. Secondly, the overwhelming relevance of class in defining the situation of Romani women is unmistakably reflected in the claims of the Romani women’s movement; i.e. in the prioritization of redistribution issues, sometimes at the cost of abandoning issues related to sexism and (un)equal recognition. The analysis takes into account the decisive elements of the Hungarian context: the lack of the tradition of a strong mainstream feminist movement, the deeply rooted anti-Roma Sentiments in the society, and the socio-economic exclusion of Roma.