Bar-Ilan University celebrated International Women’s Day and Women’s Month in a variety of ways last month, two of which include the International School’s event at which students and researchers discussed the status of women in Israel and internationally, and BIU’s announcement that it would award honorary doctorate degrees to eight influential women in the arts, sports, science, education, and business this year. BIU’s own researchers have made interesting discoveries and achieved recognition for their work. See the links to these at the end. In addition, the university has played an instrumental role in Israel’s request to join the Istanbul Convention.
Bar-Ilan’s Role in Israel’s Request to Join the Istanbul Convention
Recently, it was announced that Israel will ask to join the Council of Europe Convention Against Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, commonly known as the Istanbul Convention. This Convention has become the international gold standard for fighting gender violence in Europe. Currently, 45 countries have signed the Convention and it is hoped that Israel will become the first non-European country to join this trailblazing group.
The Israeli government submitted a formal request to the Council of Europe and is now waiting for the Council’s decision/formal invitation to sign the Convention.
The Rackman Center for the Advancement of Women’s Status at Bar-Ilan University has been instrumental in reaching this milestone by diligently advocating the Istanbul Convention in meetings with Members of Knesset and publishing informative material to raise awareness about the Convention and how it can potentially change reality in Israel.
This development is a huge achievement towards the goal; however, additional steps are needed before Israel can finally sign the Convention. Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Director of the Rackman Center and a former Vice President of the UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, is hopeful that it may happen within the next few months.
International Women’s Day Panel Discussion
Last month, the International School celebrated International Women’s Day with an interesting and entertaining roundtable event as part of its Jewish-Israeli Circle of the Year program for international students. This program enables them to get to know more about life in Israel, Jewish and Israeli customs, holidays, and lifecycle events under the guidance of Rabbanit Devorah Evron, BIU’s campus spiritual leader.
The theme of the event was “Women’s Rights in Israel and Globally”. Rabbanit Evron hosted the event and the wonderful panel included Dr. Monalisa Singh Roy, a postdoctoral researcher from India in the Department of Physics; Dr. Matea Krmpotić, a postdoctoral researcher from Croatia in the Department of Chemistry; Pauline Moreno, an undergraduate student of Political Science and Communication from Venezuela; Neta Moallem, the International School’s Marketing and Recruitment director and a graduate student in the Faculty of Law’s research track; and Dr. Zhanna Burstein, the head of the Department of English as a Foreign Language.
Hadar Giat, the International School’s Coordinator of Student Affairs and Well-being, welcomed everyone.
Rebbetzin Evron spoke about Judaism, feminism, and the status of women in Israel. She covered the observance of mitzvot (commandments) for men and women, gender roles in Judaism and society, Jewish law, gender-balanced laws of the democratic State of Israel, gender segregation in public spaces in Israel, academic studies in gender segregation, and more. She also mentioned that Jewish women have always been educated, they were always taught to read and write, unlike many other women throughout the world. There have also been many women role models in Judaism.
L-R: Dr. Monalisa Singh Roy and Dr. Zhanna Burstein
Neta Moallem covered the status of women in international law. She provided a background on human rights and the development of international law, covering the establishment of the UN and the groundbreaking Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafted in 1948 after World War 2; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly; and focused on the prohibition on torture with specific reference to domestic violence and the reproductive rights of women.
Dr. Monalisa Singh Roy, Dr. Matea Krmpotić, and Pauline Moreno introduced themselves and spoke about their countries and the status of women in those countries. They discussed women in academia, sports, and other areas as well as what was important about the place of women in their communities.
L-R: Pauline Moreno and Neta Moallem
Matea focused on two areas – women in science and women in sports. For the most part, she said, Croatian women are equal to men in all aspects of society, although as a Christian country, many traditional values are still present, such as women’s responsibility for the upbringing and caregiving of the children, choice of certain types of occupations, and so on. However, from the perspective of women in science, she was proud of the fact that the institution in which she works as a postdoctoral researcher employs over 60% women in leading roles.
L-R: Rabbanit Devorah Evron, Neta Moallem, Pauline Morena, and Dr. Matea Krmpotić
Monalisa mentioned the fact that there is no one approach to women in India because it is such a large country made up of different communities and religions and therefore, women in different places within India have different lives. She was fortunate enough to grow up in a place that allows women to acquire an education and was proud of her achievements as a postdoctoral researcher.
The presentations and panel discussions were stimulating and interesting and kept everyone entertained.
Special thanks to our speakers and to Hadar Giat, who organized this successful event.
Bar-Ilan University’s Women Achievers
Find out about some of Bar-Ilan University’s prominent women researchers who are doing groundbreaking work in their research and are receiving recognition for their achievements.
Centennial Prize
Prof. Beena Kalisky, Department of Physics
Leading Female Researchers Receiving Grants
Prof. Michal Alberstein, of the Faculty of Law, and Prof. Sharon Ruthstein, of the Department of Chemistry and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials. Click here.
Dr. Nitzan Gonen, of the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials. Click here.
Prof. Rachela Popovtzer, Head of the Laboratory of Nanotheranostics for Personalized Medicine, and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. Click here.
Interesting Research Conducted by BIU’s Female Researchers in the Past Six Months
In visual memory, size matters
