Jewish women are on sex strike in a New York village.
Women in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community near New York have adopted an unconventional method to advocate for their rights: they're participating in a sex strike.
More than 800 Hasidic women in Kiryas Joel are refraining from intimacy with their husbands to protest against a Jewish law they believe imprisons wives in undesirable and sometimes abusive marriages. They hope this boycott will pressure their partners to support their cause and bring about necessary changes.
However, this tactic has stirred controversy within Kiryas Joel, an insular Jewish community where women must seek their rabbi's permission to report cases of domestic violence to the police. The striking women have faced backlash, including having eggs thrown at them and enduring social media abuse.
The core issue prompting this strike revolves around a Jewish law that requires a specific declaration, known as a get, from a man for his wife to obtain a divorce. Without this document, women can be trapped in abusive relationships with no means of escape. Men can use the get as leverage in divorce negotiations, withholding it until their conditions are met.
One of the faces of the Kiryas Joel sex strike is 29-year-old Malky Berkowitz, who has been trying to divorce her husband, Volvy, for four years. Volvy has refused to provide her with a get, preventing Malky from remarrying.
The strike leader, Adina Sash, aims to stand in solidarity with Malky and push US courts to recognize 'get-refusal' as a form of abuse. However, the strike has divided opinions within the ultra-conservative ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
Some view it as a violation of Jewish law and a potential threat to the institution of marriage, while others support it as a necessary step to address systemic issues.
Sex strikes have historically been used as a form of protest and activism. They have been successful in various contexts, from ancient Greece to modern-day Colombia and Kenya, where women used this tactic to influence political decisions and bring about change.
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