Women are often invisible drivers of change, and Roma women have the role of initiators of change in their communities, said Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković at a lecture she gave to Roma women within the “100 for the Future” project. She supported and encouraged Roma women to become more engaged and involved in creating public policies aimed at improving their position.

Unfortunately, when we speak about Roma women, our speech is initially colored by prejudice. If we want to highlight their achievements, we limit them to the domain of music, while few people know about Jelena Jovanović, the first Roma woman in the provincial parliament, or Marina Simeunović, a successful lawyer and human rights fighter. On the other hand, when we talk about problems, a one-sided portrayal of a young Roma woman with many children dominates. We often do not understand that members of the Roma community need our help, not by imposing solutions on them, but rather by encouraging them to become active – said Commissioner Brankica Janković, adding that Roma women should have the opportunity to define, through an exchange of experiences, measures that are needed and effective for improving their position. The opinions of Roma women who are studying to become doctors, lawyers, journalists on how to help young Roma stay in the education system despite numerous challenges are the most relevant. We are only here to empower them and help them use the available tools in the best way, the Commissioner said.

The “100 for the Future” project is being implemented by the Office for Roma Inclusion in cooperation with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, the “Amaro Drom” Roma Community Development Center and the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ). It is planned that 50 Roma women from AP Vojvodina and 50 Roma women from central Serbia participate in the training.