Israel is fond of its sobriquet as “the only democracy in the Middle East”. Critics are quick to point out the many issues attached to a state which effectively controls the lives of 4.5 million neighbouring Palestinians. Even closer to home, Israeli women from the ultra Orthodox Jewish community often find themselves without a voice in the political sphere, whatever the law may say. No women currently represent Orthodox parties in the Knesset, or on any local municipality boards. “There aren’t even reliable voting figures for Haredi (Orthodox) women because they rarely turn out to vote,” said Pnina Pfeuffer, a Haredi political activist and board member of the Yerushalmim municipal party. “Haredi women are not downtrodden or oppressed stereotypes,” she told The Independent in a recent meeting in Jerusalem. “We work, often more than men do, and we enjoy our rights. “But that I think makes us complacent enough not to demand more. When it comes to voting our voices are totally stifled. We are not involved in the public sphere at all. “Many women who do vote just go along and vote for who their husbands tell them to vote for, strengthening the system that already exists.” The ultra… Read full this story
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Meet the ‘Israeli suffragettes’ fighting for Orthodox women’s right to vote have 320 words, post on www.independent.co.uk at April 3, 2018. This is cached page on xBlogs. If you want remove this page, please contact us.