Right now I’m blogging from Europe, visiting family and working from little cafes while sipping cappuccinos. Sigh. Tough life.

But Europe isn’t all berets and cobbled streets.

The Roma population is Europe’s largest minority group, and its most vulnerable. We don’t often think about Europe as being a place with inequality and exclusion, but these issues are a reality for the Roma people, who number approximately 10 million. “Prejudice and discrimination against all Roma is widespread but cultural attitudes mean girls lose out the most. Because they are girls they are valued less by their own communities, and because they are Roma they are shunned by the wider society in which they lives” (2009 Girl Report).  So, we can see an example of double discrimination for Roma girls: because of their gender within their culture, and because of their ethnicity in the broader society. The result is disadvantages for Roma girls in terms of education, literacy, low employment, and child marriage, among other issues.

Esma’s Story
from the 2009 Because I am a Girl Report

Esma, from Macedonia, is 14 years old. She is prepared to be sold to the parents of Redxep. Redxep is 18 years old and this is his second marriage. Esma’s bride price is 1000 Euros. Esma is illiterate, having left school when she was only nine. Until now, she has been living with her parents and nine brothers and sisters. Her family is very poor, and decided she should be married for the money it would bring them. Even though child marriage is forbidden in Macedonia, it is estimated that thousands of Roma children are married every year. The tradition continues and is rarely tackled because child marriages within the Roma community are not considered official.

Recognizing the deep-rooted discrimination against Roma people, the international community declared 2005 to 2015 The Decade of Roma Inclusion.