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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Do you feel that Orthodox women are treated as second-class citizens? They have to sit in the back in synagogue or in a separate room altogether. They must cover their hair and bodies much more completely than men. Most do not work outside the home. Or are these practices so much a part of life that they aren't questioned?[/quote]

I agree that Judaism treats men and women differently, and not always equally but I dont think that it considers them second-class citizens.  In general, women are exempt from almost all laws that are time sensitive, i.e. prayer 3x a day at specific intervals.  This was based on the assumption that women have childcare obligations that may otherwise dictate their schedules.  Therefore, from a logistical perspective orthodox synagogues were designed around the men's section.  Almost every Orthodox synagogue that I have been to, particularly "modern Orthodox synagogues", which have been built in the past 50 years, have the mens and womens sections equally divided, rather than having the women in the back.  I've only been to one place where women were in a separate room and it was due to space constraints - the main room only held approx 25 people and women rarely attended service.

Women, in general, are considered to be on a higher spiritual plane than men and many Jewish law, particularly ones concerning husband's obligations to their wives are very women-friendly.

The rules of modesty in terms of dress, can be a llittle restrictive for women, but men are obligated by modesty standards as well.  Thats why, even in the heat of summer, you still see the men in their black wool suits and black hats - I'd rather be wearing a long breezy skirt than wool.  Many women feel that dressing in a modest way allows them to be seen as a women and an equal, rather than as a sexual object.  My sister dresses modestly (far more so than I do) and she is very proud of it and doesnt see it as a burden at all.

Most orthodox women do work outside the home.  In fact in the ultra-orthodox world, it is the women that work, while the men stay home/yeshivah and learn Torah.
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