Accommodating haredi demands for complete gender segregation has made haredi colleges and college programs inhospitable and blatantly discriminatory to many women, three researchers told Israeli government officials Tuesday.
Haredi Colleges And College Programs Discriminate Against Women, Researchers Find
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Accommodating haredi demands for complete gender segregation has made haredi colleges and college programs inhospitable and blatantly discriminatory to many women, three researchers told Israeli government officials Tuesday, Ha’aretz reported.
“Female teachers cannot teach male classes whereas males teach both genders. Female secretaries cannot provide services to male students, thus infringing on the right to equal employment opportunities.…The courses offered are different for males and females, and the temporal and spatial arrangements discriminate against females, impinging on their equality and human dignity,” one of those three researcher, Dr. Yofi Tirosh of Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law, said.
“For example, in some colleges women may not enter these institutions on days reserved for men,” Tirosh noted, “whereas men can enter on any day and work in the library or prepare for classes. Women must sign a document committing to adhering to a dress code, whereas men are not required to sign anything.…[this] is not a situation of ‘separate but equal’, but of unequal separation.
“There has been a substantial move to radically change the face of Israeli education, making it non-transparent. We want to stop this madness and understand what is happening,” Tirosh said.
Along with Tirosh, Tel Aviv University history Professor Aviad Kleinberg and Hebrew University computer science Professor Nati Linial reported their concerns to the Council for Higher Education (CHE), the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and Justice Ministry officials.
All three indicated that gender segregation in haredi schools has morphed into open discrimination against females.
After the meeting, Tirosh lashed out at the government’s policy of haredi inclusion at all costs.
“The public is unaware of the extent of the indignity inflicted on these women. The attitude according to which inclusion of the haredi population justifies everything hides the extent of the inequality and loss of dignity suffered by haredi women. Yet again, women are asked to move aside for the benefit of a national goal, while they are still far from achieving equality,” Tirosh said.