World Civilizations of 1750-1914. Jewish Women in Russia Essay

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Introduction

World history witnessed numerous cases of oppression due to racial, religious and gender factors. Women remained limited in their rights up to the nineteenth century when they, united by common dissatisfaction with them being treated differently, stood up against this gender differentiation. At this, some women had to experience two kinds of oppression at one and the same time. Jewish women living in Russia were restricted in their rights firstly for being Jewish and only then by being women. Throughout the decades they experienced injustice and bad treatment having no strength to rebel. There is no doubt that they could handle the violation of their rights as women but the ways other people treated them for being Jewish were sometimes cruel, unfair and were a sign of complete disrespect for their culture and traditions. Vivid distinctions can be observed between the life of a Russian Jewish woman of the nineteenth century and a Jewish woman living in America today but to feel the significance of these distinctions it is necessary to find out more about what Jewish women experienced in the past as compared with what they have today.

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Discussion

What should be mentioned above all is that irrespective of living in Russia the rights of a Jewish woman were still not equal with those of a man. Patriarchate could be observed in all the Jewish families and most of the woman’s rights were neglected which was considered normal due to certain moral values and beliefs of Jewish people. It was very often the case that a Russian Jewish woman took care of the wealthiness of the family. As a rule, Jewish women kept a shop or a tavern whereas their husbands were busy with studying Torah. The thing was that Russian Jewish women ”were not expected to study Torah” and their “education was less traditional than their male peers’” (Sarah Abrevaya Stein, 2005). As the creation of harmonic and stable family was beyond the powers of a woman alone the task of a husband was to love, respect and take care of his wife keeping in mind that he was the head and authority of the family. This does not mean that men could apply violence in the family or treat their wives badly, it was just that in accordance with their religious beliefs women were deprived of certain rights and freedoms. This traditional aspect was preserved as a part of Jewish culture even when they lived in another country.

Second to mention is that legal status of Russian Jewish women differed greatly from that of the women of other religions. Russian legislation contained a number of restrictions which concerned only Jewish women. Among these laws the most difficult for women were the restrictions in the choice of the place of residence and profession as well as the percentage necessary for entering different educational establishments. Moreover, social status of a Jewish woman, according to the Russian laws, depended on the status of her husband. The wife of a Jewish man who was allowed to live out of the Jewish Pale, had a right to live together with her husband but if they divorced or in case of the husband’s death she lost this right. This was due to the fact that a Jewish woman had no right to possess real estate out of the Jewish Pale.

As far as neglecting the Jewish women’s rights in Russia is concerned some facts from the history testify that restrictions of wearing Jewish clothes were observed. In 1852 wearing of the traditional Jewish clothes was forbidden. It should be added here that it was very important for a Jewish women to hide her hair as even a couple of hairs remaining uncovered could make her husband and other members of the family very angry. Strange as it may seem, low-necked clothes for women were almost obligatory but at this showing at least some of their hair was considered to be a disgrace. There were cases when Russian Jewish women were persecuted and kept in custody for wearing wigs or tires. Nevertheless, the tries to forbid wearing of traditional clothes for Jewish women did not bring any results and they continued hiding their hair under wigs and caps.

What’s more, the neglecting of the rights of Jewish women in Russia could be also observed in the period of exiles. Wife of an exiled Jewish man just like a wife of an exiled Pole or Russian could follow him to the place of exile but if a Jewish woman was exiled her husband could never follow her. Even more cruel statutes regarding children existed for Jewish women in Russia. Women of all the nationalities when exiled were allowed to take their children together with them. However, Jewish women were an exception. They were unconditionally separated from their children though a Jewish man, if his wife followed him to the place of exile, had a right to take with him his sons not older than five and daughters under ten. Thus it can be stated that not only were the rights of a Jewish woman restricted and neglected according to the traditions of her own people but in the Russian world Jewish women were oppressed and had less rights than women of any other nationality.

In contrast, a modern Jewish American woman is given far more rights, the right for education being among them. America “gave Jewish women the opportunity to go to school for longer periods than ever before, to study “secular” subjects, to learn new occupations, and to assert their individual rights” (June Sochen, 1981) which automatically made Jewish women equal with the women of other nationalities. Now they can take part in science research and participate in all other spheres of education making contributions to the development of subjects they are interested in, having a possibility to be teachers and educate the others as well as “to gain recognition on their merits” (June Sochen, 1981) which seemed impossible to them before. As compared with the Russian Jewish women of the nineteenth century modern American Jewish women can enter any educational establishments they like being sure that they will be treated like all other women.

Moreover, Jewish women acquired the right to be members of public organizations. The example of such an organization is National Council of Jewish Women the main task of which is to make lives of women, children and families better, to eliminate racial and cultural oppression and to show that all individuals are equal in their rights and freedoms. It can be asserted that in modern America Jewish women explore not only their own culture but the American culture as well; they “became social reformers and social workers, volunteers and professionals in the twentieth century America. In so doing, they mirrored the diversities and tensions in both the Jewish and American cultures. They worked to create new equations that included both elements” (June Sochen, 1981). American Jewish women are now very successful in their public activities “because of the ambivalent richness of their dual background” as they are familiar with American culture like with their own.

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Finally, and this is the most important, Jewish women are not oppressed and restricted in their rights and are free to do whatever they want. It can be surely stated that they are a part of the American society already and together with other women they once fought for women’s rights and achieved success. Not only had they proved to their own culture that women should have equal rights with men but contributed greatly to American women’s fight for their rights as well. Here in the modern world they can live wherever they want, study whatever they want, and take their children with them no matter where they might go. They do not hide their hair anymore and without any doubt have the right to possess real estate.

Conclusion

All in all, Jewish women experienced a lot in their lives and in different centuries society treated them differently. Jewish women of the nineteenth century experienced oppression and were very much limited in their rights but with their entering the world of the twentieth century the situation started changing for the better and today modern America welcomes them and their ideas on improving the society and guarantees them equal rights with women of other nationalities.

Reference List

  1. June Sochen. (1981). Consecrate Every Day: The Public Lives of Jewish American Women, 1880-1980. SUNY Press.
  2. Sarah Abrevaya Stein. (2005). Reading Jewish Women: Marginality and Modernization in Nineteenth-Century Eastern European Jewish Society. Journal of Social History, 39(2), 586.
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"World Civilizations of 1750-1914. Jewish Women in Russia." IvyPanda, 19 Oct. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/world-civilizations-of-1750-1914-jewish-women-in-russia/.

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IvyPanda. (2021) 'World Civilizations of 1750-1914. Jewish Women in Russia'. 19 October.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "World Civilizations of 1750-1914. Jewish Women in Russia." October 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/world-civilizations-of-1750-1914-jewish-women-in-russia/.

1. IvyPanda. "World Civilizations of 1750-1914. Jewish Women in Russia." October 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/world-civilizations-of-1750-1914-jewish-women-in-russia/.


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IvyPanda. "World Civilizations of 1750-1914. Jewish Women in Russia." October 19, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/world-civilizations-of-1750-1914-jewish-women-in-russia/.

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