Romani Peoples’ Resistance to Mainstream Schooling: A Focus on Romani Woman and Girls’ Education and the Educational Policies, Barriers, and Practices in Greece

Abstract

The Romani (or Roma) people are, perhaps, the oldest and most discriminated against ethnic minority group in Eastern Europe. In particular, Romani women and girls have been described by the UN Women, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and Office of High Commission of Human Rights (OHCHR) as “one of the most disempowered groups in Europe.” This paper provides an exploratory investigation of Romani women’s and girls’ lack of educational attainment as it looks at some of policy barriers, practices and the nature of Roma peoples’ reluctance to participate in mainstream public schooling in Greek society. There is an urgent need for effective and focused policies that take into account social inclusion, equality, and non-discrimination of Romani women and girls. However, Romani women are ultimately silenced by the continued lack of quantitative and qualitative data, research and statistics, making them Europe’s most invisible minority.