Women in Jerusalem are facing discrimination and segregation because of the growing influence of ultra-religious Jewish leaders.In religious areas of the city there are growing incidents of self-imposed "separation" of the sexes, despite laws banning segregation.Frequently women sit at the back of buses, have separate entrances in some shops and different hours at medical facilities.Risque images of women that can be found plastered on billboards in Tel Aviv are considered offensive by the ultra-religious community.Advertising agencies use only images of men in their campaigns in Jerusalem.It is now rare to find any images of women at all, even those dressed modestly.
The Jewish State prides itself on women's equality. Golda Meir was Israel's Prime Minister in 1969 at a time when Britain had not yet passed laws guaranteeing women equal pay.
However,an attempt to ban women singing in public places is the latest move to spark protests after a few extremist Rabbis declared it too sexual for men to hear."The female voice is beautiful and it is fine for women to sing to each other but we do not want men exposed to the temptation," Yakov Halperin, a religious member of Jerusalem's City Council, said.
Women's rights groups have taken to organising public sing-a-longs in the street in response.
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