Gender

Monsey

Monsey Fire Department’s concessions to religious hardliners spark concerns of sexism

Under threat from rival organization, fire commissioners make sweeping changes.

Culture

‘Kissing Girls on Shabbat’: new memoir traces a lesbian’s path out of the shtetl via two marriages to men

“I almost wanted to write it as a PSA: you cannot marry away the gay,” author Sara Glass told Shtetl.

Crown Heights

Chabad women push leaders for a vote in Sunday’s Crown Heights JCC election

“All women should be enfranchised in this election,” says activist Miriam Levy-Haim.

Gender

Tznius or parnasa? Businesses buy ads showing male workers, but no women

In professions that work on commission, activists say excluding women’s pictures is particularly harmful

Gender

‘For Women and Girls Only’: new book explores Haredi women artists and performers

Author Jessica Roda charts a trend in which Haredi women's art and creativity has transcended schools and summer camps

Business

For a fee, a new institute will offer rabbinic workplace consulting and a compliance certificate

Business owners who subscribe to the Avoda Kahalacha service will receive a “Certificate of Responsibility” to demonstrate compliance with the strictest modesty guidelines

Agunah

Spirited rally for an agunah in Kiryas Joel, despite gawkers, jeers, and egg throwers

Protesting on behalf of Malky Berkowitz, a diverse group chanted “give a get” and “let Malky go,” facing a sometimes hostile crowd

Gender

Controversial rabbi launches campaign to ‘rescue’ women from ‘indignities’ of Israeli military service

Rabbi Noson Leiter, who endorsed an Alabama politician mired in sexual misconduct allegations, is calling to “save our daughters” from military service

Gender

Relationship and Intimacy coach fights back against rabbinic ban

After a large group of rabbis signed on to a ban against Shaindy Bilgrei for lectures they deemed "unsuitable," the popular relationship and intimacy counselor replied with a vigorous defense of her work

Haredi Life

Shaindy Bilgrei, a popular Haredi relationship and intimacy counselor, comes under harsh rabbinic ban

Described by some women as having “changed their lives,” Bilgrei’s lectures have now been labeled “crooked guidance from impure sources” by rabbis across the Haredi spectrum

Haredi Life

Year end reflections on Shtetl’s first ten months of reporting: the top issues of 2023

With the intimate familiarity of insiders but free from the usual top-down oversight of Haredi media, we reported on everything from the Satmar rebbe's bragging about deceiving legislators to Agudah's efforts to keep the Times from winning a Pulitzer