Romani women in Macedonia face gender and ethnic discrimination due to the government's failure to uphold their rights, Amnesty International says.

"This long-recognized double discrimination is widespread, routine and pervasive. Romani women and girls suffer from intersecting and overlapping forms of discrimination which, in many cases, go hand in hand with poverty," Sian Jones, Amnesty International's researcher on Macedonia, said in a press release Thursday.

Amnesty International says the double discrimination exists on three basic fronts: education, employment and violence against woman.

"The Macedonian government has, to date, failed to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination framework that would enable Romani women to secure their rights and challenge abuses," the press statement said.

A new Amnesty International report on Macedonia issues pleas to the European Union to monitor the situation to ensure the rights of Romani women are upheld.

"If racial and gender discrimination persist, Romani women are unlikely to escape the cycle of poor education that traps them in low-paid jobs, while further discrimination denies them access to healthcare and social security and condemns many to a life of poverty," Jones said.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 06 December 2007   

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