Documentary about three Roma women in politics premieres at Khamoro Festival in Prague

A new documentary by Markéta Nešlehová, “Ženy v poli”, will premiere as part of the World Roma Festival Khamoro 2011 on 24 May at 18:00 at the Atlas cinema in Prague. The documentary, produced by Slovo 21 in collaboration with the Prague office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Bedna Films, presents three strong Roma women and the moving stories of their lives.

As Roma women, the protagonists of the film encounter multiple discrimination in their lives. Educating themselves, fighting prejudice, working, raising their families – their lives are battlefields on which they face challenges, obligations, and obstacles on several fronts. Denisa, Lucie and Aurélie all confound the stereotype that Roma women have no interest in developing their own personalities, in education, or in participating in society. These women are all either currently active in politics or are preparing to be.

Denisa Berousková, currently on maternity leave, ran in the 2006 municipal elections. Lucie Horváthová ran in the European Parliamentary elections in 2010, heading the candidate list of the Czech Green Party for the Pardubice Region. Aurélie Balážová encounters the onerous reality of life in Roma communities every day, giving a great deal of herself in her work, and wants to change things.