I’m a traveller and I grew up with seven strict rules – sleepovers were out of the question for a start
A TRAVELLER girl has revealed the strict rules she grew up with – from not being allowed sleepovers to boyfriends being off the cards.
Zoey Pon, who left school at the age of 13, explained that growing up in the traveller community meant that she wasn’t allowed a phone and also was forbidden to drink alcohol.
As well as this, the young woman also claimed that mixing with people outside of her community was frowned upon.
Posting on social media, the Irish traveller shared an insight into what her childhood was really like, leaving many open-mouthed.
In a short clip shared online, the gypsy girl responded to a comment that read: ‘Can someone explain what a traveller is?’
To this, the curly-haired beauty revealed all, as she said: “So basically what a traveller is – the girls of us get to go to school around the age of 10, 11, the boys don’t go to school.
“The women stay at home cleaning and cooking, the men go out to work and so basically, the men provide for the women.”
Zoey recognised that travellers “travel around a lot” and face a lot of discrimination that “country people” don’t.
Not only this, but she explained that phones weren’t allowed at a young age too.
And if that wasn’t enough, Zoey opened up on the strict rules when it came to dating.
She continued: “And we were not allowed a boyfriend until basically a future husband is actually coming to the door to ask for us, other than that, you’re not allowed a boyfriend.”
In addition to this, Zoe claimed that travellers aren’t allowed to smoke or drink until they get married.
As well as this, she explained that mixing with non-travellers was taken with caution, as she shared: “When we’re younger, we weren’t allowed to mix with certain people.”
Finally, the content creator shared the common activity that was forbidden in her community.
Facts on gypsy and traveller communities
Typically, gypsies is a term used to describe Romani people who migrated to Europe from India while traveller refers to a person with either Irish, Scottish or English heritage.
Around 300,000 Gypsy, Roma and Irish travellers are thought to live in the UK.
All three groups come from nomadic ways of life, however, as it is increasingly difficult to find land to live on, many are moving into permanent housing.
They place high value on family life and often live close together even after reaching adult years and getting married.
Often the men are the breadwinners of the family while the women stay home.
While many English gypsy girls are allowed to drink alcohol and go on holiday with their friends before they get married, their Irish counterparts are not.
She concluded: “And we weren’t allowed to have sleepovers or anything like that, that was out of the question. That was not happening.”
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @zoey_pon, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly amassed over 26,000 views.
Not only this, but Zoe previously revealed the strict rules that she has for her caravan.
The young woman explained that she won’t allow dirty feet in her caravan, so guests must wash their feet before they step inside.
Not only this, but Zoey, who doesn’t cook in her home, claimed that eating and drinking in her home is forbidden.
She shared that this is because she doesn’t want to make her home “dirty” or have food smells lingering around afterwards.