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.

Invisibility

This includes pre-birth gender selection, lack of birth registration and public environments, which are unsafe for girls, marginalising them and discouraging their visibility.

Capacity

This affects the full ability of girls to benefit from all of their Convention rights. Impaired capacity is contributed to, for example, by educational curricula, which reinforce negative gender stereotyping, and by preferential access to nutrition within families for boys.

Physically and Mentally

This includes gender based violence and trafficking, temporary marriages, and judgemental attitudes to sexual activity of girls, limiting their access to preventative measures and other health services including HIV/AIDS.

Family and Household Responsibilities

This includes discrimination caused by lower minimum ages of marriage for girls and the sexual and economic exploitation of girls as domestic workers.

Traditions and Customs

This includes embedded religious, judicial and secular traditions, which allow for the creation of status offences discriminating against girls in the legal system and inequality in inheritance.

This conceptualization was presented by Geraldine Van Bueren in the 2007 Because I am a Girl Report which comments on the state of the world’s girls.  I think its really useful, because sometimes its easy to forget some of the less obvious ways that girls can be marginalized – while physical discrimination is in your face, the areas of invisibility and capacity are less obvious but just as important.

A special Because I am a Girl report on The State of the World’s Girls says,

“Discrimination against girls and young women remains deeply entrenched and widely tolerated throughout the world.  Many of the challenges girls will face start from the moment they are born; in fact in some parts of the world, girls are the target of a social preference for boys even before birth”

A lot of this has to do with power.  The Spice Girls might not be together any more, but they got something right when they talked about girl power.  What they were really talking about is “empowerment,” which means having the ability to make choices, rather than just take what comes.

When I was in Ethiopia, I met a woman whose father had died of AIDS, leaving her mother, sister and her behind.  Because the father was the main breadwinner, his death left the family struggling to make ends meet.  The mother made a decision that one of her daughters should get married to relieve some of the stress of caring for two daughters.  The daughter I met married an older widower in her community who would provide a stable life and reduce the financial burden on her family.  It wasn’t until later that she found out that his previous wife had died of AIDS, and now she was infected as well.

If empowerment is about being able make good choices, this example shows how powerless can exist when the only choice available can put you or your family at risk.

But, it’s important to remember that women around the world are not just victims.  All around the world, you’ll also see women active in claiming their rights, improving their communities, and supporting other women.  The woman I met in Ethiopia is now working as a peer-counsellor for other women in her community, helping them to know their rights and protect their bodies.

This blog is about both those things…coming face to face with the issues faced by women around the world, and also seeing what strong women around the world are doing about it.  To hear more about empowerment in action, read Nazma’s Story.

Yesterday some girls told us about the different ways they’ve experienced gender discrimination.  One told us of how she plays hockey with boys.  The boys make fun of her for being a girl and whisper about her being weak.  Another girl said she challenged a boy in her class who said ‘girls should only be in the kitchen making food’.

The second we feel the injustice of being treated differently because we’re girls is exactly when we can start to understand the plight of girls around the world who face even worse injustices…the kind that leads to abuse, hunger and loss of life.

Eternia mentioned that some girls don’t even know that life can be better for them…that they have rights making them equal to the boys and men in their lives.

That’s why we’re doing this tour.  So girls here in Canada can be reminded of the power they have to DO something about gender discrimination.

I’m glad to be part of it!