Women Across Religion

Exploring the Role of Women Across Religion Together we are all living in an ever growing and changing society. All around us there is change happening to grant equal rights, earn respect, or simply just spread a message of unity across our world. We are seeing races come together to fight for equal treatment, we are seeing people of different religions band together for what is right, and what I find most interesting is the movement of women to get their voices heard and demand equality. Just this last January, on the 21st following the election of our new President, Donald Trump, women and men alike, got together to fight for basic human rights and equality. So while we are seeing an up rise in how women want to be treated, it makes me wonder,

It has been stated that “In traditional Judaism, women are for the most part seen as separate but equal. Women's obligations and responsibilities are different from men's, but no less important” (Rich). This being said, the Talmud has many negative things to say about women. Many Rabbis have been known to say that women are “lazy, jealous, vain and gluttonous, prone to gossip and particularly prone to the occult and witchcraft” (Rich). It is to be noted that the Talmud said negative things about men as well, but it is simply that they are prone to lust. Women are also discouraged from pursuing higher education and religious opportunities because they are expected to stay home and be good wives and mothers. Women were however given the right to own property and create their own contracts, something women in western society have only been allowed to do in the last century. Women in Judaism also have the right to decide who they want to marry. They are seen as more spiritually influential which is why your Jewish ancestry derives from your mother’s

Much like Judaism, a woman is considered unclean during her menstrual period and is to abstain from intercourse with her husband during this time. However, it is not as severe as Judaism as the men are told to interact with their wives just like they usually would, allowing them to touch and sit on the same surfaces she had. It is also stated that a divorced woman should keep herself waiting for three menstrual courses and it is considered unlawful to hide whatever child they may be baring. If the husband wants to reconcile with the wife before the end of her third period, the man has full right to take the wife back into