In Israel, the Women’s Equal Rights Law of 1951 guarantees the equal treatment of men and women. But the long-running conflict between religion and state often undermines legally established principles of gender equality. Secular principles govern much of public life, thereby granting women and men the same rights while also subjecting them to the same obligations. Matters related to personal law are administrated by the country’s religious courts – including Jewish rabbinic courts, Islamic Sharia courts, Christian courts and Druze courts1. In many of these courts, patriarchal norms and traditions still prevail.
Women in Israel have a relatively high level of protection in regards to family matters. Israel’s religious courts have jurisdiction in all matters related to marriage and divorce. The civil family courts have parallel jurisdiction in issues of child support, guardianship, property disputes, inheritance and family violence.
The legal age of marriage is 17 years for both sexes. Early marriage is not a common practice and the average marriage age has increased for both men and women since 1970. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 4 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. However, this figure might be underestimating the true extent of early marriages. As reported by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Knesset Research and Information Centre estimated that hundreds of minors – mostly females – marry in Israel each year.
Although polygamy is prohibited in Israel, it is still practised among the country’s Bedouin population. According to Haaretz-Israel News, approximately 30 per cent of Bedouin men are believed to have more than one wife. Islamic law allows Muslim men to take up to four wives, provided that they can support all wives financially.
Parental authority is equally shared between mothers and fathers.
Men and women are treated equally in matters of inheritance. The secular Succession Law of 1965 makes no distinction between male and female heirs. According to Radford, this is one area in which the law of the State of Israel contradicts traditional Jewish law (Halakhah), which allows women to inherit only under very limited circumstances.
Islamic Sharia law contains detailed and complex calculations of inheritance shares. Women have the right to inherit, but their shares are generally smaller than that to which men are entitled. A daughter, for example, inherits only half as much as a son.
Women in Israel have a relatively high level of protection for their physical integrity. Violence against women is prohibited under several Israeli laws including the Penal Code, the Prevention of Violence in the Family Law and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law. Yet such violence remains prevalent. Judging by the number of complaints filed, domestic and spousal abuse appears to have increased in recent years – or at least women have become more aware of their legal rights. So-called honour crimes occur among the Arab population. As cited by the US Department of State, in a 2005 report the Women against Violence Organization estimated that each year an average 10 women are killed by their relatives.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is not a common practice in Israel. According to FORWARD, symbolic forms of FGM are believed to be practised among some Bedouin populations and, to a lesser extent, among Ethiopian Jews residing in Israel.
There is no evidence to suggest that Israel is a country of concern in relation to missing women.
1. Some 76 per cent of Israel’s population is Jewish. Muslims make up the second largest group (16 per cent), followed by Arab Christians (1.7 per cent) and Druze (1.6 per cent).
Israeli women do not face any restrictions in regard to exercising their ownership rights. Women have the legal right to access to land and access to property other than land. In reality, as most land is owned and controlled by the government, access to land is quite complicated for both men and women. There are no limitations on women’s access to bank loans.
In general, Israeli women have a high degree of civil liberty. There are no specific laws or customs that limit women’s freedom of movement. However, both men and women may face restrictions on their movement within the occupied territories, and between Israel and the territories. Conservative Muslim women might be expected to respect traditions of purdha, which prohibits them from socialising with unrelated males.
Women’s freedom of dress is respected, although there have been some reports of women being denied access to supermarkets and other public facilities if they choose to wear short skirts and sleeveless shirts. Muslim women may or may not wear the veil, depending on personal beliefs and traditions.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2005), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Israel, Fourth Periodic Report of States Parties, CEDAW/C/ISR/4, CEDAW, New York, NY.
FORWARD (Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development) (n.d.), Female Genital Mutilation, www.forwarduk.org.uk
Haaretz Israel News (n.d.), New Child Allowance Plan Targets Polygamy, www.haaretz.com, Accessed 26 November 2007.
Osman, M., H. Rashad and F. Roudi-Fahimi (2005), Marriage in the Arab World, PRB (Population Reference Bureau), Washington DC.
Radday, F. (2005), A Free People in Our Land: Gender Equality in a Jewish State, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem.
Radford, M. (2000), “The Inheritance Rights of Women Under Jewish and Islamic Law”, Boston College International & Comparative Law Review, Vol. 23, No. 2, Boston.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Israel and the Occupied Territories, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
