ABSTRACT
Throughout history, the strength of women has always been fundamental to the survival of communities subjected to persecution and genocide, just as it is today under western neoliberal democracies, characterized by systemic discrimination. Here we discuss important steps in the growth of gender activism and specific forms of Gypsy and Romani feminism, mostly in eastern European countries and the Mediterranean region. Even as institutional efforts to effectively address the multiple discrimination suffered by Gypsy women seem to fail, new forms of feminism, gender agency, and activism are arising in communities, transnational networks, and among Roma/Gypsy/Traveller educators. There is a review of the political and generational differences within the movement, and the need to change the pattern of relationships with white/gadje feminists and to overcome the classic dilemma of having to choose between ethnic militancy and gender activism is discussed. As Trinidad Muñoz (2006) posits, ‘Can we discover a way to live our “Gypsyhood” as feminists?’
