The War on Women

´Feminism is starting to have its day in Israel, and on a certain level, this is invigorating´.

 There is a war on women in Israel and Elana Maryles Sztokman is documenting its major fronts. 

Women are sent on the back of the buses, women faces are erased from the public space and publications, women voices are cut shortly. Women bodies are under control either it has to do with conversions, dress code, divorce or fertility. There are modesty patrols in the religious neighbourhoods, not only in Israel, but in other religious neighbourhoods around the world as well, such as in the USA or London. There is erasure of women´s faces from Holocaust artifacts - ´a new low in the world of religious misogyny´. 

Although the situation emerged in the 1990s, only in the last five years there is more awareness about the extent of the problem. Most of the turns do not have anything to do with the religious law - for instance, in the case of women voices, the prohibition is for men to hear it, not for the women to stop singing - and in the rest, there are completely out of context rulings. 

The War on Women in Israel documents all those situations, in the smallest details, but also offers insights about the turn that was taken among the women themselves, including the religious ones. There is more pressure against the establishment - religious, state´s - towards reclaiming a safe and respectful space. This is the only way to keep the radicalism in check over and over again. 

Democracy and individual freedoms are not to be taken for granted. Critical voices are needed to maintain the awareness about the need of any power - laic, religious etc. - to respect women. The fact that more and more women refuse the second-class condition they were assigned by men, gives hope. But it is not enough. Never will it be enough.

Conversations with My Body

When women are erased from religious publications and from public life and the calls for a radical separation between the women and men are becoming more and more vocal, books like Conversations with my Body. Essays on My Life as a Jewish Woman by Elana Sztokman are a trustful companion to those women who do not want to give up their rights and dignity.

Approached from very personal angles, but also from an anthropological perspective, the articles are covering a variety of topics burning nowadays in the Jewish world: the oppressive dress code and the body politics, sending women to the end of the bus - literally and symbolically, the overwhelming number of cases of eating disorders among Orthodox Jewish women, the overall limitations women of all ages should cope with during their lives. 

Although the topics repeat themselves, each article brings a new idea or point of view, as the author herself is ready to share more personal experiences and insights. The personal note of most of the articles brings not only authenticity, but has the force of an example empowering women that may want to follow of similar path but are not sure what to expect or how to actually do it. 

The direct tone and openness in sharing her life journey is key in creating awareness about the general topics that affect the everyday lives of Orthodox Jewish women. Over two decades ago, Sztokman decided to uncover her hair, which is mandatory for a married woman, and continued with smaller or bigger steps on creating her own path: as a woman, mother and Jewish feminist. Using a clear anthropological mindset, she makes clear distinctions which help to understand various patterns and mindsets.

Conversations with my Body is an inspiring book especially for those women looking for a Jewish life outside the society models ordered by men and sometimes sheepishly vouched by women. All can start so easily, by taking back the control over our bodies, piece by piece.