Chareidi Women: the Stupider, the Merrier.

This latest development, reported in Haaretz (link), infuriates me. Here are a few choice quotes:

A committee of rabbis formulating the education policy in the ultra-Orthodox community has prohibited women's continuing education programs and severely restricted other study courses, thus blocking the advancement and development of haredi women's careers.

In recent years, the reforms in the continuing education programs have not pleased the rabbis, who object to women's "academic" studies. The conservatives warned of women's "career ambitions," fearing they would now be able to break out of the "teaching ghetto" and find other jobs than teaching. Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was quoted in Yated Neeman objecting to teachers' enrolling in "all kinds of other education programs without any supervision of rabbis on every detail".

He warned that without close supervision and determining the content, "all manner of heresy can creep into those programs."

The absence of ultra-Orthodox lecturers with academic degrees in diagnostics and consulting required bringing in lecturers from "outside" the community. Yated Neeman's women's supplement, Bayit Neeman, blasted the trend of bringing in lecturers from the "Sephardi faction" and even "completely secular" ones, warning of the women students' defilement.

Orthomom points out the cruelty and hipocricy in requiring women to support their families, but taking away almost all means of making a decent living. Dovbear points out that this ruling harms other charities who's donors will now be funneling their money to support the kollel families. I'm sure everyone is wondering why the sephardi faction is deemed a source of "defilement"?

I pose a different question: why do these chareidi rabbanim distrust women so much that they need to control ever aspect of their lives? Read the words carefully: "...the rabbis, who object to women's "academic" studies. The conservatives warned of women's "career ambitions," fearing they would now be able to break out of the "teaching ghetto" and find other jobs than teaching... R.Eliyashav... objecting to teachers' enrolling in 'all kinds of other education programs without any supervision of rabbis on every detail'... warning of the women students' defilement." I'm not out to bash the chareidi establishment, but these words make it very clear that many the rabbanim think women should be afforded the independence level of a child, who must be supervised in all respects.

I don't believe in gender equality, especially when it comes to religious practice. Men and women have distinct roles, that are for the most determined by tradition, and the existence of this notion does not confirm that orthodox Judaism is sexist or demeaning to women. However, this latest edict has to be one of the most sexist actions I've ever seen taken in the name of orthodoxy. The bias against women's intellectual capabilities to discern right from wrong, proper from improper and professional from personal is so offensive and demeaning. How is it that women can't be trusted to engage in a professional pursuit--mind you, via chareidi schools for females only with mostly religious faculty?

And if women are to be so distrusted, how is a man expected to trust his wife for his most fundamental religious needs: kosher food, taharas hamishpacha and chinuch habanim?

True Story: When I was in grade school, my 'science' teacher (a post seminary girl) concocted a ridiculous story about gravity making machines that keep the astronaut-mobiles grounded on the moon. My parents, sticklers that they are for truth, complained to the hanhalah that the young lady is unfit to be teaching if she couldn't even be bothered to read a 5th grade text book, which would have told there is in fact gravity on the moon, etc... The administrator took my parents aside and told them very seriously, "We don't think you should be so concerned with your daughter's education, because it'll only cause problems later in life when it's time for her to run her own home... Our policy with girls is THE STUPIDER, THE MERRIER. Ha, ha ha ha ha..." His attempt at sarcasm didn't work that well. Needless to say I switched schools the following year.

I honestly think that even with all the respect people have for daas Torah and emunas chachamin, there will come a tipping point where these sorts of outrageous, unfair and halakhically unjustified demands will be exposed for what they are, a means to control the population. For what end, I don't know, but the means will certainly backfire! Women are not nearly as stupid or docile as you'd like to think.

***

Update 1/3/07: I decided to cross out all the angry stuff. This ruling doesn't affect me. I can't relate to it. I went to a secular college despite being told in non-negotiable terms that it's wrong and against what Chabad believes. I don't consider it a sin to judge for oneself the salience of a particular custom (with the individual advice of someone more knowledgeable and less defiant). But I shouldn't be blowing lid off about it. Trying to stay positive... it isn't easy.