Simultaneously, she is the first athlete to hold the world record in all five swimming styles putting her at the top of the international list of women’s record-holding swimmers. The European Commission should define minimum standards and clear indicators that specifically target Roma women and girls, and use its political influence to make Hungary and other member states adopt these.
- In March, the ECtHR ruled that detaining asylum seekers in areas known as “transit zones” qualified as unlawful detention.
- Although knowledge was insufficient in almost all fields of the questionnaire, the most prominent gap was observed concerning risk factors and signs and symptoms of BC both in laywomen and, unexpectedly, screening attendees.
- In order to increase the number of Roma women employed in higher-quality public positions , the state aims to continue the program “The Opportunity is Growing” and complement its activities with digitalization.
- In 2011, the Hungarian government was found to have financed an anti-abortion campaign with European funds, which provoked the anger of the European Commission.
- The HNSIS identified a horizontal objective targeted at “reducing the educational and labor market disadvantages” of Roma and considered the needs of Roma women in most of the policy areas that being discussed.
The different impacts of COVID-19 on men and women in Hungary are clearly visible in a workplace which has always tended to historically favour men. One of the most glaring examples is the fact that the burden of childcare which has always fallen disproportionately on women, has seen significant numbers forced to give up their jobs to care for and educate their children as nurseries and schools have been closed. Even though the conservative government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban enshrined, in the Constitution, the protection of the fetus “from conception” in 2011, the country’s relatively liberal abortion laws have remained largely unchanged. In effect, that means making pregnant women listen to the heartbeat of the fetus, a move many have described as unnecessarily cruel to force upon women struggling with the life-altering ordeal of terminating their pregnancy. Instead of looking to migration to solve the labour shortages and population decline, populist governments have rejected this option. Orbán built a wall along the country’s southern border to keep migrants out during the 2015 refugee crisis, and government-controlled media frequently links migration to moral decline and terrorism in western Europe. For example, if your partner is a big fan of Hungarian culture, this might be a significant plus in your marriage.
Hungary says Sweden should ‘act differently’ if it wants to join NATO
However, the reality is that Roma people do not have full access to fundamental rights and face serious obstacles in this regard. Even though the EU Framework acknowledged that the member states should make sure that Roma enjoy the same rights as others, it lacked a discussion about what the specific responsibilities the member states have. Moreover, the document is completely silent about racism and how it has become an integral part of European structures, including the European Union. While the new EU strategic framework includes many novelties, the new Hungarian strategy does not improve the previous one much. The main goal remains to tackle poverty and to reduce the disadvantages faced by poor people, while it is also stated that there will be more emphasis on climate change, mental health, digitalization, and cross-border cooperation.
According to the RCM, this program was highly promoted and claimed to be one of the most successful when it comes to Roma women. However, only about 400–500 out of the 1,000 women involved got jobs after completing the training to be health care workers and nannies. It has affirmed that there is a joint responsibility of all the member states to take action and address the challenge of Roma integration, and to create an inclusive society.
While describing the situation of Roma girls, the HNSIS made a strong connection between particular gendered roles within the Roma community and the quality of educational opportunities. It argued that gendered factors such as women taking care of the whole household, raising children, and being under pressure to marry are common in Roma culture and traditions.
The Place of Roma Women and Girls in Hungary’s Social Integration Strategies: A Gender Analysis
Children from Roma families living in poverty continued to be separated from their families and placed in long-term state care, even though this practice is forbidden by the Hungarian Child Protection Act. Women often fear retaliation for reporting discrimination both internally to their employer and also through external legal avenues, such as lodging a complaint with the Equal Treatment Authority or taking a case to court. Internal complaints mechanisms https://stthomas-hospital.com/2023/02/11/dating-advice-a-practical-modern-guide/ are often non-existent or ineffective and there are often overwhelming barriers to external remedies. The situation of employees is often compounded by the fact that they are unaware that the employer has a duty to reinstate them in their original or equivalent role but that employers often choose to ignore these obligations, and therefore it rarely happens. For example, many employers refuse to accommodate employees’ requests to work part-time after returning to work from maternity or parental leave, despite a legal obligation on the part of the employer to do so. As reported by Euronews Hungary, a recent statement made by Hungarian President Katalin Novák, a close ally to Prime Minister Orban, had already led to speculation that abortion rules could soon be amended. Women wishing to get an abortion in Hungary will now be legally forced to listen to the fetus’ heartbeat, a new government decree states.
Hungary is a good case study for how gender has been taken into account in a national Roma integration strategy in the EU. It has one of the largest Roma populations in the EU, with Roma people having lived in and contributed to the country for centuries. In the past 12 years, Hungary has also become one of the most conservative and anti-Roma countries in Europe—paradoxically as it has expressed the commitment to improving the wellbeing of its Roma population in all fields of life. Beside the increase of anti-gypsyism in the country, anti-gender sentiments have been also appeared more and more frequently in the past decade. This has been reflected in the banning of gender studies and in anti-LGBTQA+ policies and measures, among other developments, since 2010, when the governing Fidesz party started to turn Hungary into an increasingly fascist state. This has happened as the same time as hungary women gender equality has become a top priority to the EU.
In March, the ECtHR ruled that detaining asylum seekers in areas known as “transit zones” qualified as unlawful detention. The case concerned an Iranian-Afghan family of five who were held in the Röszke transit zone in unsuitable conditions without food or proper medical treatment, which amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. This, combined with the lack of a statutory basis for detention and its duration, also amounted to unlawful detention. After an initial rejection of their asylum application, the applicants were recognized as beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. “Whilst the pandemic is impacting every aspect of our lives, it should not be used as an excuse to further undermine the rights of women in the workplace. Above all, pregnancy or motherhood should not be treated as stigma in the 21st century workplace,” https://strikeelectric.com/regional-conference-on-women-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-economic-commission-for-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/ said Amnesty International Hungary Director, Dávid Vig.
On the other hand, Roma women are overrepresented in the public sector, especially in low-quality jobs where in 2020 they made up 38.7 percent. A communal cleaner’s job pays 85,000 forints per month (about €212),15which is not enough to maintain a family or to help Roma woman to get out of the circle of poverty and pursue a better job or education. However, due their lack of education and employment opportunities, they are left mostly with the opportunity of this job or similar ones or nothing.
Although knowledge was insufficient in almost all fields of the questionnaire, the most prominent gap was observed concerning risk factors and signs and symptoms of BC both in laywomen and, unexpectedly, screening attendees. These results urge breast health and BC knowledge interventions in Hungary. These objectives also include action points and refer to state institutions, which makes it even more detailed and concrete. The inclusion of these missing areas could make a real difference in improving the situation of Roma women and girls in Hungary, since most of the inequalities that affect them originate during decision-making processes. Therefore, while Hungary’s Roma strategy offers some “treatment” for few symptoms, it does not address the real causes of inequalities concerning Roma women and girls in the way the Phenjalipe document does. Some of the RCM’s reports contained analyses of how the first Hungarian integration strategy targeted and carried out measures regarding Roma women and girls—this could be expanded now. The new coalition for the RCM has already started its work to monitor the measures and results of the country’s new strategy.
At the time of writing, there is no information as to whether Phenjalipe’s strategy has been even partly implemented in any European country. Its importance lays in the fact that it was specifically written by Roma women experts, who have a greater understanding and expertise on how the situation of Roma women and girls could be improved. While it was facilitated by the Council of Europe and not the EU, nothing would have prevented Hungary, as a member of both bodies, to use this strategy as a guideline.
