Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis Ban Women from Going To College and Getting a “Dangerous” Secular Education

According to a document obtained by The Independent (UK), Ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbis who are part of the Satmar sect are banning women from obtaining university degrees because “It is dangerous.”

Written in Yiddish, the decree warns: “It has lately become the new trend that girls and married women are pursuing degrees in special education. Some attend classes and others online. And so we’d like to let their parents know that it is against the Torah.

“We will be very strict about this. No girls attending our school are allowed to study and get a degree. It is dangerous. Girls who will not abide will be forced to leave our school. Also, we will not give any jobs or teaching position in the school to girls who’ve been to college or have a degree.

“We have to keep our school safe and we can’t allow any secular influences in our holy environment. It is against the base upon which our Mosed was built.”

This is taking place in the same community, by the way, where women are told that they can’t drive.

Those are two sides of the same coin, because they both boil down to freedom: freedom of the mind, freedom to move around, freedom to explore. If women were to acquire some of that delicious freedom, they might figure out just how badly they’re being oppressed.

I’m sure if you ask them about this, though, they’ll say this is what they want. After generations of being treated this way, that kind of brainwashing is hard to eliminate. And a lack of education means they’ll stay that way.

(Image via a katz / Shutterstock.com. Thanks to Brian for the link)