Women Unchained DVD 2011 English & Hebrew with English Subs Directed by Beverly Siegel

Women Unchained

USA, 2011, 60 minutes, color
English and Hebrew with English subtitles
Directed by Beverly Siegel

Even though Leslee’s husband was having an affair with the babysitter, it still took ten years before her husband would grant her a “get,” or Jewish divorce. In the meantime she raised their seven daughters alone.

When Ariel sought a “get,” her husband demanded payment of half-million dollars from her father.

These are just two of the stories chronicled in Women Unchained, an important new film documenting the experiences of modern-day agunot, or women whose husbands refuse to grant them a Jewish divorce. According to traditional Jewish law, a woman who is an aguna (from the Hebrew word meaning “chained”) cannot re-marry.

Among the women profiled are Susan Weiss, founder of the Center for Women’s Justice, who successfully sued in Israeli court a husband who refused for 16 years to grant his wife a get; Sharon Shenhav, director of the International Jewish Women’s Rights Watch, who represented the Israel Bar Association on the commission appointing judges to the Israel Rabbinical Courts; Rachel Levmore, author of the Agreement for Mutual Respect pre-nuptial agreement, who tracks down recalcitrant husbands around the world; and Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, chief judge of the Chicago Rabbinical Council and the Beth Din of America.

Shot in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and Israel, Women Unchained includes illuminating interviews with leading women’s rights advocates, rabbis and experts. The film provides helpful historical background on the state of women’s rights in Judaism and details of “get-o-nomics” and the outlandish extortion schemes levied against some women.

Women Unchained documents the religious court established by the late Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, which frees women from recalcitrant husbands through the issuing of annulments, and the efforts of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes on behalf of Jewish victims of domestic violence and get extortion.

Narrated by actress Mayim Bialik (Blossom, The Big Bang Theory) and featuring an original score by guitarist C Lanzbom, lead singer of Soul Farm, Women Unchained offers strategies for what women can do to protect themselves and why the issue matters to all Jews.

Critical Acclaim

"In producing Women Unchained, a daring yet dignified film about women who can’t get a get – a Jewish divorce – filmmakers Beverly Siegel and Leta Lenik have done Jewish society a favor." —The Jewish Press (12/2011)

"Thought provoking, unexpected yet uncomfortably familiar, this documentary tells the stories of five Orthodox women, each a victim of her husband’s refusal to give her a get, a Jewish divorce, without which they cannot remarry. Viewers live through their travails in this film, which also features interviews with experts, by writer-director Beverly Siegel and codirector-editor Leta Lenik. Actor Mayim Bialik’s clear narration leads to the conclusion: Have your daughter sign a prenuptial agreement to prevent her from becoming an aguna." —Rachel Levmore, Hadassah Magazine (12/2011)

"Women Unchained was one of the most well-attended and talked about films of the festival. The panel following the film screening, with director Beverly Siegel and a parent of one of the film's subjects, Darryle Gilman, was eye-opening and thought provoking." —Kathryn Spitz Cohan, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Jewish Film Festival

Resources

GetYourGet is a nonprofit educational website, founded in partnership with the Agunah and Get-Refusal Prevention Project of the International Young Israel Movement in Israel and the Jewish Agency, under the direction of Dr. Rachel Levmore. Created by Layah Kranz Lipsker, with support from the Hadassah Brandeis Institute Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law, the site is designed to educate and support Jewish women seeking a Get, or Jewish divorce.