It is often pointed out that Iceland is one of the European countries with the most advanced legislation and practice regarding women’s rights and gender equality, as well as equality in access to education, health care, and labor rights. Iceland was the first country to elect a female president in democratic elections – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir in 1980, representing a major turning point in the fight for women’s rights. One of the events that still symbolizes that struggle today is the “Women’s Day Off” (Kvennafrídagurinn), organized on October 24, 1975, when women all over Iceland stopped working for a day to show how important their work is to society.
While education and healthcare are free for all citizens, and there is a strong aspiration for high representation of women in parliament, for ensuring equal pay between men and women in the same roles, and for enforcing strict laws that protect women from violence, including domestic violence and sexual harassment, with a support network in place for victims, significant challenges remain. Addressing these challenges is a daily priority for non-governmental feminist organizations, human rights protection associations, and educational and state institutions, all of which recognize that both the legislative framework and its practical implementation require ongoing improvement. The results of their activities and support often go beyond the borders of Iceland, so the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages and its initiative Roma in the Center, led by project manager Prof. Dr. Sofiya Zahova, partnered with the Croatian Romani Union “KALI SARA” on the project “Educated Roma Women – Empowered Roma Communities!”. The implementation of the activities began in February 2021 with the financial support of the Fund for Active Citizenship. As part of the project’s educational activities, 200 Roma girls and women participated, alongside representatives from 10 Roma National Minority Councils, 11 Roma associations, and dozens of young Roma men and women, who took part in legislative and public advocacy workshops focused on gender equality. The City of Zagreb and the Office for Cooperation with NGOs financially supported the project. Veljko Kajtazi, MP supported and actively participated in all activities.
The project spanned three years and included three educational cycles. The first cycle addressed gender equality and the importance of education. The second focused on workshops about changes in the female body during adolescence, as well as reproductive and sexual health. The third cycle concentrated on motherhood, preventing peer and gender-based violence, and partner relationships. Handbook For My Healthy Growing Up, prepared and published during the project was of great help in implementing the activities. It contains the work methodology, i.e. all the modules that were implemented during the project. Both in terms of content and visual material, the handbook is a unique read intended for the education of girls and young women in learning about the changes while growing up, as well as women’s human and reproductive rights.
The implementation of the project was followed by a comprehensive media campaign, as part of which eight video spots were created, which were viewed by over 30,000 people. Radio Antena produced a radio commercial that was then broadcast on six Croatian radio stations and reached half a million listeners. Round tables were held on the topic “How to get out of the vicious circle of poverty”, and the stakeholders included the offices of the Ombudswoman, the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality, the Ombudsperson for Children, the Ministry of Science and Education, principals of primary and secondary schools that have Roma students, centers for social welfare, the Croatian Employment Service, and others.
The final conference of the project was held on November 7, 2023. All relevant stakeholders were present, the Roma community and its representatives, educational and relevant state institutions, and the media, and for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the project, Romani girls and women. At the final conference, Sofiya Zahova, as a representative of the Icelandic partner, gave her review of the project and its results. She highlighted that the number of Romani girls graduating from high school, as well as the number of female students, is rising, and they now outnumber their male peers. Although this percentage remains significantly lower compared to the overall population, the positive trend is noticeable, which she believes is crucial for establishing balance within the European context. In Croatia, Roma participation in education, particularly among Romani women, is significantly lower than in other European countries. This is supported by preliminary data analysis, the results of which were published in the book Inclusion of Roma in Croatian Society – Base Data Analysis (2018) by Suzana Kunac, Ksenija Klasnić, and Sara Lalić, released by the Center for Peace Studies.
In addition to supporting the project, as part of the bilateral cooperation developed through the Fund for Active Citizenship, the Croatian Romani Union “KALI SARA” and the Icelandic partner decided to translate the handbook For My Healthy Growing Up into the Icelandic language, and jointly designed the presentation of the handbook and the results of the project at the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages, which was attended by related non-governmental organizations, international and state institutions, and services. The content of the handbook is universal and therefore suitable for use in Iceland, Sofiya Zahova points out. She adds: Presenting the project and the handbook in Iceland is also important for Icelandic society, which has encountered the challenges faced by Roma women and civil society in general through the Institute and our initiative Roma in the Center. The first Roma migrants arrived in Reykjavik in 2016, so Icelandic society needs practical examples and experiences. Zahova proudly points out that Tatjana Latinović, a participant in the Icelandic women’s rights movement focused on women of non-Icelandic origin and current president of the oldest women’s society in Iceland, also participated as a lecturer in the handbook. With its program, the Icelandic Institute Roma in the Center, among other activities, promotes UNESCO values, so they regularly celebrate the World Day of Romani Language, on November 5, declared an intangible world heritage by UNESCO in 2015. They organize literary and other expert cultural and linguistic forums, and round tables where Roma experts and professors are regularly present as lecturers.
The Icelandic edition of the handbook was also welcomed by project manager Suzana Kunac, stressing that she is certain that it will find its application within the Icelandic educational system: Iceland is a multicultural and intercultural environment that takes care of migrants, asylum seekers, and Roma, therefore such a handbook can have a wide range of use in elementary and high school educational programs. Iceland attaches great importance to the implementation of prevention programs, both in terms of gender equality and reproductive health, as well as in preventing sexual, physical, psychological, and economic violence, said Kunac.
The seminar “Empowering Women from Diverse Backgrounds and Networking with Icelandic Women’s Organizations” was held at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik on September 3, 2024. Its goal was to showcase examples of good practices and facilitate the exchange of experiences. Attendees included representatives from the Croatian Romani Union “KALI SARA,” led by Suzana Kunac, manager of the project “Educated Roma Women – Empowered Roma Communities!” Also in attendance were UN Women Iceland, led by executive manager Stella Samúelsdóttir, the Women’s Rights Association—one of the oldest and most influential organizations advocating for women’s rights—led by executive director Auður Önnu og Magnúsdóttir and Magnea Marionsdóttir, expert and coordinator of the Femme Power project. Additionally, representatives from W.O.M.E.N. (Women of Multicultural Ethnicity Network in Iceland), the professional services of the City of Reykjavik, and other organizations and individuals participated. The seminar was followed by individual meetings to get acquainted with the challenges and results of the project “Educated Roma Women – Empowered Roma Communities!”. In the Reykjavik City Council, the “KALI SARA” team was received by Sabine Leskopf, a member of the Council and founder of the Women Of Multicultural Ethnicity Network in Iceland. She is also a member of the Reykjavík City’s Human Rights and Violence Prevention Council. The visit to the “safe house” Stígamót, a center for people who have suffered sexual abuse, hosted by the director of the center, Drifa Snaedal, was also significant for the exchange of experiences.
Most of the women we talked to welcomed the activities carried out during the project “Educated Roma Women – Empowered Roma Communities!”. After reviewing the handbook, they came to the same conclusion as many women in Croatia, which is that it would have been great if such a handbook existed in the time of their growing up. Therefore, I believe that the reception of the handbook in Iceland will be excellent, says Kunac.
Impressions from Iceland, after the meetings, gave the team from Croatia additional enthusiasm and motivation to continue with educational activities after returning to Croatia. We plan to promote the handbook even more strongly through educational programs Come promto REKC! and Escape Rom, which Croatian Romani Union “KALI SARA” implements in cooperation with primary and secondary schools, says Kunac. She adds that the handbook has every right to be a part of the program that will be implemented through Civic Education. All the meetings we had in Iceland, which Sofiya Zahova organized for us, for which I thank her once again, were extremely useful and, I would say, mutually inspiring. The meeting, organized by UN Women, resulted in an agreement to collaborate on the global campaign launched for International Women’s Day on March 8, as well as on the organization of the International Conference of Roma Women, which the Croatian Romani Union “KALI SARA” plans to hold in late November 2025. During the discussions, it became clear that we share a similar understanding of the core issue in the fight for women’s rights: in any societal crisis, gender equality is the first to be compromised. This is why Icelandic women, even though they live in the world’s leading country in gender equality by all indices, continue their fight for women’s rights. As they put it, ‘it is not enough, and it is not good enough,’ especially if our goal is for women to live in a society free from violence, where they can realize their full potential without fear.
