Abstract:

This communication is part of the PAL project "Fighting discrimination and anti-Gypsyism in education and employment in the EU" (JUST / 2014 / RDIS / AG / DISC / 8115), developed from January 2016 to January 2018. The main objective is to develop a holistic approach in the educational and labour field in order to reach the integration of the Roma community, supporting national inclusion strategies derived from the recommendations at European level.

This paper is focused on the necessary education of Roma women in a context where anthropocentrism and ethnic marginalization are determining and constraining factors. We advocate providing special emphasis on education of Roma women, as they are doubly discriminated: as women and as Roma.

In order to reach this objective, education, as a process of integral development, must be attractive. In this sense, schools should entice Roma people so as to fulfil the social function for which it was created: the social insertion of people belonging to a common society. That is why we consider that a school which is thought by and for the Roma population should be especially careful with education of Roma women, while —and exactly as in other cultures— they are, transversally, fundamental in their children’s lives. The fact of empowering Roma women can lead us to a future of cultural coexistence free of stereotypes, which will take us far beyond education to a specific woman, demonstrating her articulate role in the transmission of her own knowledge and traditions.

Keywords:

Education, gender, inclusion, minorities, Roma.