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 The Bottom Line / Ultra-Orthodox girls' education downgraded
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at Haaretz.com
Paradoxically, the girls in the ultra-Orthodox education system are better off than the boys. The fact that the boys are groomed for lifelong Torah studies, while the girls are left to bear the burden of supporting their families, means the girls' schools are more open and much better than the boys' schools.
The boys study Judaic subjects exclusively. The girls, who will have to find jobs, are also taught secular subjects, and some girls even go on to earn a B.A. at an ultra-Orthodox teachers' seminary, in order to teach in one of the ultra-Orthodox education networks.
This has shifted the balance of power within ultra-Orthodox society. The women have established themselves as breadwinners, and as more educated and independent.
The desire to protect the men and leave them sequestered in the world of Torah has resulted in women's accumulation of power, education and status at the men's expense - perhaps too much power, education and status.
This, at least, is one of the explanations for the revolution the rabbis are pushing to change the status of women in ultra-Orthodox society.
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