Single and married women in the law of Israel - A feminist perspective

This paper examines the ways Israeli law differentiates between single and married women. The first section explores the little we know of single women and single mothers' realities. The second section analyses Israeli laws related to military service, housing assistance, homemakers' status in the social security system, ways of becoming a mother, and public support for mothers. The legal analysis reveals complex distinctions between single and married women ranging from ignoring single women when they have no children and encouraging them to marry, to ambivalence towards single women who want to conceive, and onto substantial public support for single women who are already mothers. The article points to directions of change needed so the law will adequately address single women's choices and needs.