The Roma are the largest minority in Europe. The right to have children was taken away from hundreds of Roma women in Slovakia in the 1990s. They were subjected to forced sterilization - often immediately after giving birth.
One of them is Veronika Duždová. The 46-year-old woman lives in Jarovnice - the largest settlement with a compact Roma population in Slovakia. “I am close to several women who were sterilized. We often meet to talk about this, as well as about our work“, she tells DV.
The women's stories are similar
Veronika works for an organization that supports Roma women subjected to forced sterilization. Among them are those who have been fighting for years for financial compensation - so far without success. “They have lost hope, but I encourage them not to give up. We believe that one day the law will come into force and we will finally receive compensation. We started this fight and we will bring it to an end“, says Veronika.
The stories of many of the women are similar. Zlatitsa Kaleyova tells us that in 1993 she was sterilized during childbirth - without her consent. She only found out about it five years later, when she wanted to get pregnant again.
“People were slandering me, saying I was a lesbian because I couldn't have more children. And I couldn't stop crying. But I can't do anything - I have to accept it as God's will“, the woman told DV.
Hundreds of women have become victims without suspecting it
In the 1990s, several hundred Roma women were forcibly sterilized in Slovak hospitals - often after giving birth, under the pretext that this was necessary for medical reasons. One of them was Veronika Duždová, who was sterilized after the birth of her second child - with serious consequences.
“When a Roma woman gives her husband children, he treats her well - and that's great. But if she doesn't have children, everyone considers her a failure. Today I live alone, although I'm still married. My husband has been cheating on me for 23 years. Now he has children from another woman.“
Veronika always wanted a big family - with five or six children. This is important in the Roma community. “It's very sad, it's hard for me to talk about it. Fortunately, both my children supported me through all these difficult moments and I survived... And when I learned about this organization and joined it, it gave me new strength“, the Roma woman shared with DV.
A legal dispute over a painful page of history
The organization is located in the nearby city of Košice and Veronika works there three days a week. The biggest obstacle in the legal battle has been access to medical records, says her lawyer, Vanda Durbakova: “Thanks to the Roma women, there is now a law that allows us to view and copy medical records to prove what happened“.
According to the data the organization has, in the Košice and Prešov regions alone, more than 140 women were sterilized without their knowledge. The government is currently preparing a law that would make it possible to pay compensation. However, it is not certain whether it will ever be adopted.
“The state should have taken action long ago to close this painful page in our history and compensate the women. We believe that this can finally happen. "Compensation is important not only for the women themselves, but also for the whole society," says Durbakova in this regard.
There are also openly racist opinions
In the public sphere, the topic of forced sterilization continues to be contested, and opinions on the streets are partly openly racist:
“They should not be allowed to reproduce like insects, like locusts. That is my opinion. Here, in Slovakia, the Roma are eating us“.
“There are Roma who take advantage of the system and give birth to children just to receive state benefits.“
Veronika Duždová knows these prejudices well, but finds comfort when she visits her children and grandchildren. The youngest of them - Stelka - will soon be one year old. Veronica hopes to soon receive at least some compensation for all the suffering she has endured. But she won't keep the money for herself - she has decided to give it to her grandchildren.
Author: Tessa Walter