Marija comes from Macedonia, where she finished her undergraduate studies at the State University of Law – Justinijanus Primus. She was a student in the Roma English Language Program in 2014-2015, and applied to RGPP in order to prepare for a successful application to a MA program in Human Rights at Central European University.
"I am certain that this program will not only improve my English capacities, but will also prepare me for applying and attending my further education on MA level outside of my home country. I have earned my bachelor degree in law in 2014, so I want to continue in the Human Rights Department in CEU. My specific interest in the legal studies offered by this Department are the courses such as: EU Non – Discrimination Law, Asylum, Refugee, Gender and Law and EU Human Rights Law and Policy.
The reason for choosing this specific field comes from my research interests and the need to further develop my theoretical knowledge and critical thinking. Since there is an intersection between the area of housing and the areas of health, education, employment etc. I would like to analyze the problem of urban planning and housing as one of the main reasons for social exclusion of Roma community. I consider this to be of high importance because the poor substandard conditions often lead to health problems, without adequate housing is difficult to find quality education and without education it is hard to find appropriate employment. Also, I am very interested in analyzing the political participation of Romany women, with the emphasis on the Romani Muslim women.
During my education I have been involved in many activities related to Roma issues and my legal studies. I was an active member and director for study visits of the European Law Student Association and a member of the legal commission at the Student Parliament of my University. Furthermore, I am a Street Law teacher and this is the dearest activity and experience that I have ever had. I was giving law lectures in Romaversitas to Roma Students with an aim to increase their awareness for the rights that they can enjoy. Also, I took a part as a member in the working group for ex-post evaluation of the Law that protect the rights of the minorities who are less than 20% in my country.
The way I see it, this program will enrich my professional growth, will help me gain experience on writing academic researches and broaden my knowledge of law for improving the conditions of the Roma community in my country and Europe. CEU is a great environment where you can meet people from everywhere. Also, RELP and RGPP are programs where you can share your own experience, where you can meet Roma students from different countries and realize the differences and the similarities among us."