Women's Rights

Great concern about women’s rights has erupted in Israel over several incidents- some inexcusable while others seemingly innocuous. There are two aspects to the issue.  First, does the separation of men and women imply discrimination against women, as Bill Gates commented in a recent interview on the BBC?  Secondly, should the separation and cover up be enforced in the public domain? The second issue is fairly simple, no, and especially not in the way certain situations have been handled.  To be clear, those responsible are not really religious.  The press fails to report that these same ‘religious’ fanatics have also spit on the leading Rabbis who have policies against their beliefs.  Clearly, the secular media wants to use the zealots to tarnish the entire religious community.   They are fanatic personalities that would be fanatic in any arena.  Further, that is the reason there is a large camp of Jews who are not traditionally Zionist for if you define a State as Jewish you are then forced to define Jewish- to do so results in an uncomfortable mixture of ‘synagogue’ and state that forces the issue.  So back to the first issue, does separation equal discrimination?

In truth, it is hard to justify answering questions, as if from a defensive position, about discrimination from a secular society that lags far behind in protecting its women.    Let me site a few statistics that will highlight the point.  As many as one in four women will be involved in some type of rape during their college careers.[1]   Anorexia is the third most prevalent chronic illness among teenagers, mostly women of course.[2]  And finally, it is now expected that nearly 50% of married couples will engage in infidelity at some point in their marriage, and mostly it will be the man that strays.[3]  To say that each of these items is destructive is an understatement.  Just take the last statistic, the amount of depressed spouses and destroyed children that come about from this behavior is not included in the data.  In the religious world, the comparable statistics are virtually negligible.              

 

What accounts for the difference?  Perhaps, it is the moral ideology that adultery and rape are morally reprehensible. The problem is that moral abhorrence of rape is similarly strong in the university world, but it still happens at an unacceptable rate (adultery is no longer necessarily considered wrong by secular standards despite the terrible consequences).   So if it isn’t ideology, then what is it? Likely, it is the cultural norms and actions that make a difference, namely separation of the sexes.  Ideology is never enough when trying to enforce action; knowing that something is wrong will not help unless a tangible action tags along.  For example, a person on a diet does not spend time in a fresh bakery.  Likely, during the duration of the diet he avoids all places that may tempt him.  It is not that he discriminates against unhealthy food; rather, he has other values that override his desire for the food, health, and so he places barriers between him and the food to lessen the chance for a mistake.  The knowledge that sweet smelling baked goods will ruin his diet won’t guarantee success.   

Granted, this a crude analogy, but it works over here.  To deny that there is a natural magnetism between men and women is to deny a biological reality.  There is a real force in the world called attraction between the sexes and it is among the more powerful forces created in this world.  Ideology alone that this force can only be acted upon in the proper situation is not enough given the extent of moral failures in this area.   Clearly, simply mind over matter does not necessarily apply here- a person may be playing Russian roulette with his and his family’s well-being. 

                Therefore, the recognition of this force neither places the blame nor targets just women.  It does not hyper-sexualize women, as one Rabbi wanted to claim, nor desexualize them completely.  The norms in place reflect a force that exists and ensures that this force of attraction is kept at bay in the wrong situations. And from a spiritual perspective, both parties are equally boosted internally by the separation- it is spiritually destructive for a man to view a woman as an object, as it is for the woman to want to be viewed that way.   Separation of the sexes is not discrimination, but an intelligent way to ensure strong families and communal spiritual growth.

for two excellent articles on the matter, written by a woman, please see:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/can-ultra-orthodox-culture-go-overboard-in-its-quest-for-modesty-1.408262
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=251336

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[1] 1 Hirsch (1990). National Victims Center. Retrieved August 16, 2000, from the World Wide Web: http://www.ncvc.org/ index.html

[2] http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidelity