Community Organizer Runs Feminist Groups for Roma Girls in Central Slovakia

Kristína Maková works as a community organizer in Banská Bystrica and surrounding areas, where she runs programs for Roma girls from marginalized communities. The initiative focuses on empowering young Roma women, with participants expressing ambitions such as becoming police officers. However, these girls face significant barriers in the form of generational poverty, which Maková describes as more than just a lack of money but rather a complex set of interconnected problems. The work represents efforts to address educational and social inequalities facing Slovakia's Roma minority, which comprises roughly 8-10% of the population and often experiences discrimination and economic disadvantage.