Nationalism without a Nation

Gendered performances of nationalism can be seen around the world, weather it is American "Minute Men" who guard their nations border from illegal immigrants, or Muslim women who wear headscarves as a symbol of their cultural-religious, and national pride. However, these performances of gender and nationalism reflect a more established nationalism, one that stems from what Anand refers to as "a coherent and bounded political collective that has supremacy over itself"(285). Under the Instrumentalist/Modernist theory put forth by Anand, the state precedes the nation and its role is of massive importance (284). In this post, I will respond to what I see as a lack of analysis of nations without states. By using the Roma people as an example, it is interesting to note the effects of nationalism on a people who have no national sovereignty and the resulting oppression of women from within and outside of the community.

When "nations" are constituted by stateless groups such as the Roma in Europe, gendered performances of nationalism are seen as necessary to the survival of the nation. Thus, it is no wonder that Romani women face extreme discriminatory practices from within their nation to be "biological reproducers of members of [sic] the collective" and to participate "centrally in the ideological reproduction of the collectivity and as transmitters of its culture" (Anand 284). As Rozalija Iliæ describes, "patriarchy has built up a hierarchy of power, based on age and gender, in which Romani women and girls have very little control, if any, over their sexual or married life, the number of children they have and the time between births" (ERRC, 2000).

The discussion of women's rights is contentious within the Roma community for fear of a dis-unifying threat to the nation. Katalin Sztojka, head of Phralipe the Independent Roma Association takes the view that:

"I’m afraid that the forces of assimilation will go to work within the field of women’s rights as well. The Romani women’s movement is not yet very large, but it is possible that it will grow. What if this whole fight for the rights of Romani women is a part of a bigger plan? Communists had a method to destroy Romani communities and forcibly assimilate Roma. I think there are some parallels between Communism and the Romani women’s movement today. If you hear often enough that Romani traditions are bad, and that you are bad, you will believe it in the end."(ERRC, 2000)

The fear of cultural assimilation contributes to nationalist rhetoric that not only dis-empowers women, but highly devalues the feminine and prioritizes the masculine as a matter of "necessity" to the group. In this way, the highly controlled role of women within Romani society is bound up in visions of national self determination, and is unlikely to end or evolve in a as the group sees itself as constantly under threat of assimilation (aka under attack by other nations). As "active participants in [the] national struggle" (Anand 285), Romani women's bodies are seen as part of the battle ground over which the national struggle is being waged. Both Romani men and women's adherence to culturally defined gender roles is of utmost importance lest the nation disintegrate into the surrounding cultures. Although these characteristics are perhaps not unique to the Roma, one way in the situation the Roma and Romani women is further complicated is by the influence of several outside states into the reproduction of Roma culture.

For instance, in 1972 the Czechoslovakian government took specific steps to inhibit the reproduction of the Romani race through a practice of coercive sterilization of women, including a Public Decree on Sterilization. The practice of sterilizing Romani women without their full consent has been practiced in other countries, such as Hungary and Sweden, and instances have been reported as recently as 2008. This kind of discrimination based on ethnicity carried out through a gendered policy is reminiscent of rape in wartime to the effect of ethnic cleansing. However, the explicit involvement of various modern states no doubt makes the situation of the Roma somewhat different though no less appalling.

It is impossible to cover all of the implications of nationalism on gender and women in the Roma community, however it is interesting to use this example as a reminder that nationalism comes in multiple forms and is performed differently depending on the status of the nation in question. The intersectional discrimination of Roma women from within and from outside of their communities reminds us of the need to dissect the various circumstances in which gender is performed, and that trying to enforce a westernized view of women's rights needs to take in to account the ways in which group identity is tied to gender roles and understand nationalist complications if change or improvement is ever to take place.

-E.

Works cited:

Anand, Dibyesh. "Nationalism". Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations, Ed. Laura J. Shepherd, 2010. NY: Routledge.

European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC). "Roundtable: Romani activists on women’s rights." Romani women in Romani and majority societies. 12 April 2000. http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=626. Accessed October 18, 2011.