Ethnicity and Gender in the Politics of Roma Identity in the Post-Communist Countries

A considerable number of political leaders, political parties, and interest groups turned to ethnicity as a predominant frame of reference for political mobilization and identification after the breakdown of the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe in the early 1990s. One of the most important by-products of the post-communist transition globally was the emergence of identity-based Roma politics and the development of minority political participation in Central and Eastern Europe. The chapter outlines the evolvement of the transnational Romani women activism as a force which always assisted and organized around different international organizations’ political agendas. The emergence of Romani women’s transnational activism has been assisted by international organizations that advocate human rights, particularly women’s rights. In the Roma activism, the gender equality discourse became a new political leverage and has been adopted by key international Romani women activists.