1 / 18

Virginity, Early Marriage and Well-Being of Roma girls The Children’s Rights Perspective

Virginity, Early Marriage and Well-Being of Roma girls The Children’s Rights Perspective. Ljiljana Sini c kovi c. Brana Bo s njak. Outline. Roma in Europe The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Research questions and methodology Result analysis Readiness for marriage

lerato
Download Presentation

Virginity, Early Marriage and Well-Being of Roma girls The Children’s Rights Perspective

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Virginity, Early Marriage and Well-Being of Roma girls The Children’s Rights Perspective LjiljanaSinickovic Brana Bosnjak

  2. Outline Roma in Europe The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Research questions and methodology Result analysis Readiness for marriage Qualities of the bride Virginity Discussion Best Interests of the Child Final comment

  3. Low socio-economicconditions • Low education, highdropoutrates, specialschools • Unemployment • Negative stereotyping • Collectivistculture: Family, solidarity, community - „Honor“ - socialpressure

  4. “My grandfather used to say – I will watch over a hundred sheep, but I can’t watch over one daughter.” (F, 43, Germany)

  5. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 20th November 1989 Not only the economical factors, but also the culture and the social structure of the family contribute to the violation of some children’s rights: The needs and problems of children are subject to the interpretation by adults… (Vuckovic –Sahovic, 2000) Threekeyconcerns 1. denial of childhood and adolescence 2. curtailment of personal freedom 3. denial of psychosocial and emotional well-being (UNICEF, 2001)

  6. The Study Document Analysis Field work Winter 2009/2010 Semi-structural interviews (N=35)

  7. Sample

  8. GuidelineQuestions • What is the appropriate age for a girl to get married? (Readiness for marriage) • What kind of qualities should a bride possess? ( Qualities of the bride) • Does a bride (groom) have to be a virgin? ( Virginity )

  9. Readiness for marriage “Birth, marriage and death are the standard trio of key events in most people’s lives. But only one - marriage - is a matter of choice” (Unicef, 2001:2) “They came to propose, and my ex father-in- law together with my father and brother agreed about my marriage. I didn’t want to, I was only 13 (…) As the parents say – that’s the way it must be. ” (M, 35, Germany) 14% of Roma girls get married under the age of 15, every third has her first child before she reaches majority (MIC Survey, Serbia, 2010) USA 4%; Germany 1% women marry before age 18. (Unicef, 2001)

  10. Qualities of the bride MOTHERS “She should be a virgin”, “smart and polite”, “hardworking” BOYS “She should be a virgin, she shouldn’t be empty-headed and she shouldn’t go out everyday” GIRLS “To be able to do all the house chores”, “to take care of children” and “to be good to her husband”

  11. Virginity of the bride “I find it better for my family if she is still a virgin, because of the honor. By that man shows that he chose a smart and a good girl...” (K, 17, Germany) “If she is wandering around, you can’t say if she is a virgin or not. And when the time comes for her to marry, she comes all “torn up”. Many Gypsies worry about that.” (H, 34, Bosnia) ”...when people hear you’re not...everyone will think you’re a whore” (J, 16, Germany)

  12. Virginityofthegroom “They are simply freed from that guilt. It cannot be seen on them and it can be seen on us.” (I, 27, Serbia)

  13. Discussion • best interests • education EARLY MARRIAGE AND VIRGINITY • participation • health • information • discrimination • all forms of physical • or mental violence • life, survival and development • free time and recreation

  14. The best interests of the child Article 3 • In all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration…. • States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being… • What is best interest?

  15. The concept of childhood • “I got married when I was 18. There was a time when I was a child, a young woman, a woman and a mother, which is not the case with most of my female friends. They changed straight from the role of a little girl, 14-15 years old, to a woman and then soon to a mother. So the time when they were young girls – did not exist.” (I, 27, Serbia)

  16. Final comment Nomatter whichcountryofresidence - theattitudesof ourparticipantsremainsimilar Women in education… Bridginigthegapbetweentraditionandeducation

  17. Thank you for your attention! Ljiljana Sinickovic lj.sinickovic@scn.see.ba Brana Bosnjak branislava.bosnjak@uni-bielefeld.de

More Related