I Have a Dream ... Alongside Photos of Women in Israel

Iran and Israel have many differences, but they are not entirely dissimilar, particularly in the behavior and approach of 'hardline conservatives' towards women's rights and their presence in the public sphere. In Israel, however, the hardline conservatives do not have absolute power everywhere, but now, coinciding with International Women's Day on March 8, women have risen to confront restrictions even in their strongholds. In many respects, Iran and Israel cannot be considered similar, including in terms of democracy levels, the relative independence of the judiciary, etc. However, it can be noted that in recent years, Israel has shifted further to the right, with Netanyahu's government increasingly indifferent to Palestinian rights while in Iran, reforms have faced more resistance and the government's attention to the demands of a significant portion of its citizens has diminished. A notable commonality, however, is the undeniable behavior of conservatives (Orthodox) in both countries towards women's rights and even their representation. Last summer, during Iran's first football match against Morocco in the World Cup in Russia, Iranian state television aired a live report (with a slight delay for 'Islamic decorum') that only showed women wearing hijabs, while none of the women without headscarves were visible. Interestingly, some Moroccan fans in the stadium held a banner calling for Iranian women to be allowed into stadiums in Iran. Before the World Cup matches began in Russia, the Revolutionary Guards sparked a wave of public protest by installing a billboard in downtown Tehran related to the Iranian national football team's participation, featuring individuals from all ethnicities in Iran, but only men were shown, with no women present. This may have been a sign of a retreat in the face of the increasing demands for women's rights, including the removal of barriers to their social, economic, and cultural participation or in opposition to compulsory hijab. The protests against that billboard were not in vain, and it had to be replaced. Nevertheless, it seems that Iranian women still have a long way to go, as there is still no noticeable change in the overall approach of the hardline power core towards women and their rights, voices, and images. The 'brothers' of this hardline power core in Israel also have similar approaches, although unlike their counterparts in Iran, their influence is limited to certain areas (mainly Jerusalem). They are also not comfortable with the public image of women. Last autumn, when Ms. Rachel Azaria, a representative of the centrist Kulanu party in the Knesset, announced her candidacy for the mayoralty of Jerusalem, hardline conservatives in Israel took to the streets with brushes and paint, tearing down or painting over her posters wherever they appeared on walls. Ms. Azaria did not accept this destruction and sued the company Kanan, responsible for placing and installing the posters. She did not seek damages but insisted that Kanan take action to make women's images more prominent and visible in Orthodox neighborhoods. Ultimately, an agreement was reached outside the courtroom between Kanan and Azaria, which has become noteworthy six months after the incident of her posters being destroyed in Jerusalem. Limor Livnat, former Minister of Education: 'I have a dream; equal pay for equal work done by women.' 'You cannot erase me.' Since last week, coinciding with the arrival of March 8, International Women's Day, under the aforementioned agreement and in collaboration with several women's rights organizations, 50 buses in Jerusalem have been circulating with posters of prominent women from the country, each featuring a sentence beginning with 'I have a dream ...'. Ms. Azaria described this initiative as this year's tribute to March 8, International Women's Day. Alongside her own photo on the buses, it states: 'I have a dream; that women's requests for divorce are not met with refusal.' The image of Ms. Limor Livnat, former Minister of Education, is also prominently featured on the posters with her statement: 'I have a dream; equal pay for equal work done by women.' The poster of Nili Philip can also be seen on some of the buses in Jerusalem with the phrase 'I have a dream, that every woman can feel safe in public spaces.' Philip previously managed to persuade the authorities in Beit Shemesh, a city predominantly inhabited by Orthodox residents, to take down billboards containing various regulations and recommendations regarding women's dress and permissible and impermissible places for them. The buses carrying the posters are scheduled to operate in Jerusalem for two weeks, with the hope that being mobile will make it more difficult for hardline conservatives to interfere with them. The argument is that the more normalized the image of women becomes in the city and the more women in Jerusalem demand this right, the harder it will be for the Orthodox to resist it. It has been agreed that the buses will not operate in areas completely controlled by Orthodox Jews, but the main goal of the campaign is that they cannot impose their discriminatory beliefs and thoughts on other parts of the city. Despite attacks by Orthodox individuals on some of the buses, the campaign continues. Nili Philip: 'I have a dream, that every woman can feel safe in public spaces.' In other areas, women's protests and movements for their rights have also gained attention. Ms. Hannah Katzman, aligned with modern Orthodox Judaism, last week filed a lawsuit against the furniture company IKEA, because two years ago in Israel, considering the sensitivities of hardline conservatives, the company published its advertising catalog without images of women, featuring only pictures of furniture, men, and children. As protests escalated, the catalog was collected, and IKEA published a catalog without any human images. Now, Ms. Katzman and the relevant organization are suing for discrimination applied in the catalog, seeking damages of three million six hundred thousand dollars. Currently, as the campaign for the Israeli Knesset elections (scheduled for April 8) is underway, interference with women's campaign posters in Orthodox neighborhoods is not uncommon. Ms. Tamar Zandberg, leader of the left-wing Meretz party, launched a campaign two months ago against the authorities of Bnei Brak, as they would not allow a poster featuring Zandberg's image to be installed on the walls. The Meretz leader initiated a campaign on social media with the hashtag 'You cannot erase me.' In support of this action, Ms. Tzipi Livni, former foreign minister of Israel, released a video calling on women to protest and stand in solidarity with Zandberg, stating: 'This is not about my image, but about the effort to make half of society invisible and erase them.' Hardline conservatives in Iran and Israel are facing increasing resistance from women.