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The status and role of women in the Orthodox world is a complex issue. Some Orthodox Jews think that women have no place at all in the public domain. In contrast, others allow varying degrees of female involvement in Jewish public life. In some of those groups, women can serve in the army, study Gemara, serve as pleaders in rabbinical courts and even rule on legal matters, read from the Torah and more. The restrictions imposed on women’s dress generally testify to their status in the community.
