ABSTRACT
It is sometimes claimed that the development of Spanish Kalí women’s NGOs, usually referred to as ‘Gypsy women’s associations, marks the emergence of a Romani feminist movement which then spread out to Central and Eastern Europe. The authors debunk this myth and show that many of these NGOs, which they label ‘pro-system’ to distinguish them from other Kalí organisations, in fact function in partnership with the State to maintain structural racism and assimilationist policies. Relying on participant observation and text analysis, they argue that the promotion of ‘pro-system Kalí NGOs’ aims at nourishing the illusion that Kalí women’s rights are safeguarded by state institutions and that Kalé communities alone are responsible for their marginalization. They situate this strategy within a neoliberal model of governance, which moulds the civil society framework and counters dissent through competition for project funding. The chapter is first structured as a dialogue between the two authors in an effort to acknowledge their positionality as Kalí and Gadji (non-Romani), and then moves on to a co-written form to explore the possibilities of critical partnerships.
