The Road to Empowering Roma Women

Photo: Novian Fazli via Canva Pro 

ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. This bottom-up initiative was collected by Gábor Szüdi within ACCTING’s mapping of inspiring practice cases, within the Farm to Fork Research Line. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Banyaerdő, Hungary

The critical situation of Roma Women 

In Hungary, discrimination and economic marginalization continue to be major issue that disproportionately affects women. Additionally, as women continue to experience the harmful and violent effects of sexism, the situation for Roma women is far worse and more hopeless. Roma people have lived in and contributed to Hungary for generations, making up one of the largest  Roma groups in the EU (Marina Csikós, 2022). 

Even though the European Union has made gender equality one of its goals since 1957, most of its member states still do not treat women and men equally (European Commission, 2023).  

A regional strategy for the most vulnerable  

Banyaerdő (“Forest of the Witches”) is an exciting organisation in Dencsháza, Hungary, a village of 560 people in Baranya County. It is a network of environmentalist volunteers who assist Roma women of the rural village in selling their local produce (mostly mushrooms and berries). Through cooperation, Roma women take pioneer roles in strengthening their deprived societies and developing business skills. The volunteers help make this a zero-waste business activity. Besides, the aim is to build useful capacities which would make them more competitive in the labour market. 

Find out more here.

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