The get-refusal problem should have been solved more than 30 years ago - opinion

• Author: ESTHER HINDIN
• Published date: 12 March 2022
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

How can it be that in the 30 years since this law has been enacted, women can still not marry or divorce freely? Why has the issue of agunah – women refused a divorce by their husbands – not been solved

Rachel (an alias for privacy reasons) began enduring horrific physical and verbal abuse shortly after she married. She had one young child and the couple decided to divorce. Her husband fled the country to avoid paying alimony and did not give Rachel a get (a Jewish bill of divorce). After 20 years of agunah, Mavoi Satum, an organization fighting for the rights of agunah, represented her in the beit din, the rabbinic court.

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At that point, the beit din ordered him to give the get but claimed that because Rachel's husband was not in Israel, they could not enforce the order or apply sanctions. Because the rabbinate failed to find a solution for her, Rachel has been an agunah for more than 30 years. Her dreams to remarry and start a new family could never be realized. Today, Rachel is nearly 60 years old and still...