Expanding gender segregation threatens equality in Israel - opinion

Reports emerged last Thursday that a group of girls was told by ultra-Orthodox passengers to move to the back of a bus that was on its way from Jerusalem to Arad. This occurred despite a High Court ruling that women cannot be forced to take a specific seat on the bus (one can’t help but question why such a ruling would even need to be established in a democracy).

Attempts to implement gender segregation are not new in Israeli society. What is new, however, is the combination of egregiously low levels of women represented in key decision-making positions combined with increasing attempts of lawmakers and public institutions to promote such segregation. 

For example, just recently, Israel’s Council for Higher Education – a governmental oversight body headed by the Education Minister – discussed a five-year plan for the integration of the country’s haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population into institutions of higher education.

A draft of the plan that was made public around two weeks ago indicates that the council is proposing an expansion of opportunities for gender-segregated learning to include master’s degree programs, and not only bachelor’s degree programs as has been the case until now. 

This proposal runs counter to the High Court ruling according to which gender-segregated studies are to be allowed only for undergraduate programs, and that extending them to graduate programs could make such segregation illegal (this, in addition to other steps that the ruling classified as forbidden, such as segregation in public spaces and not only in classrooms, and the exclusion of female lecturers). 

The ruling was based on the principle that segregation itself harms the right to equality and human dignity, but that this harm can be justified by the need to allow the haredi public to gain a higher education in conditions that are adapted to its culture. It should be noted that the ruling also included the minority opinions of justices who held that gender segregation even at bachelor’s degree level is not justified. 

What is certain is that the ruling explicitly stated that extending segregation to master’s studies, which are not considered a gateway to higher education, is unjustifiable and represents a disproportionate harm to equality.

THEREFORE, Adv. Sapir Paz and I submitted a response to the Council for Higher Education, expressing opposition to its intention to extend gender segregation to master’s degree programs – based, among other things, on the fact that this step expressly contravenes the High Court ruling and that it illegally and unjustifiably harms the right to equality. We point out that this extension is problematic in and of itself, but that the problem is even more pronounced in the broader context of gender segregation in Israel, which is being advanced by the current government in a consistent manner.

After submitting this response, we were reassured to see the Council for Higher Education announce that it will not implement the proposal to allow for gender segregated classrooms in master’s programs – at least for now – and will conduct a thorough examination of the need for gender segregation in such situations.

This suspension is welcome – and indeed, as noted in the response that we submitted, if the possibility of segregation is even considered, it could only be justified (if at all) if the council proves it can be done in the least harmful manner possible, and is indeed effective in achieving its goals. Therefore, until this in-depth examination is conducted, gender segregation cannot be implemented, and the council is correct to reverse its intentions.

However, even though the council has backed down, one cannot ignore the proliferation of efforts to undermine gender equality by the current Israeli leadership. In the government’s coalition agreement, a commitment was made to amend the section of the law that defines gender segregation as discrimination, known as the Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services, and Entry into Places of Entertainment and Public Places.

ACCORDING TO the coalition agreement, the law would be changed so that segregation will no longer be considered discrimination, and thus gender segregation will be legally permitted. Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech even organized an event under the banner of the Knesset lobby she created – the Lobby for National Religious and Haredi Women – with the title “The Right to Gender Segregation.” 

In a similar spirit, the lobby submitted an opinion to the Council for Higher Education expressing support for the proposal to extend gender segregation to master’s studies, in line with the view that segregation is not discrimination but a “right” that should be protected.

Gender segregation is also currently being discussed in the context of drafting haredim into the IDF. It is often argued that in order to encourage the ultra-Orthodox to serve in the military, there needs to be an environment that respects their culture and way of life, meaning that women-free spaces should be created there. In this case, too, conscription of haredim is a vital and worthy goal that upholds the value of equality, but again, fulfilling this goal cannot come at the expense of the women serving in the IDF and their own right to equality. 

Even without legislation to this effect, we must remember that women are already being excluded from decision-making positions. The government has not made a single permanent appointment of a woman as director-general of a government ministry, across all its 35 ministries, with just one woman holding such a post on a temporary basis. Furthermore, only five women serve as ministers in the government out of these 35 ministries. Female perspectives, therefore, play little to no role in the formulation of government policy.

Under these circumstances, the right to equality is being harmed on a daily basis. Extending gender segregation even further would constitute an additional harm to the principle of equality for Israel’s women and for Israeli society as a whole. 

The writer is director of the Center for Democratic Values and Institutes at the Israel Democracy Institute.