CanadaLea Lavy is a doctoral candidate at the University of Alberta. She holds an MBA in Educational Management and has spent more than 30 years teaching students across Israel, Nigeria, the United States, Mexico, and Canada.Her research is informed by her experience teaching in an ultra-Orthodox school as a non-Orthodox Jew, which gave her a unique perspective on the social and religious mechanisms shaping identity within that context. Her work explores ancient customs, devotional practices, and religious norms that lead to fanaticism and sectarianism—particularly the extreme deference to rabbinic authority. She aims to raise awareness about abuse within the Orthodox Jewish community and how it can arise through religious structures.
This article analyses Canadian Supreme Court cases on Orthodox Jewish divorce, arguing that religious freedom should not protect oppressive practices and that state intervention is justified to uphold women’s rights and equality.
