The Story

At 21 yrs old, Vered Ovadia got married to a man she was allowed to meet only 7 times before. It was an arranged marriage, Vered had no other choice but to accept, as accustomed in the ultra-orthodox religious Jewish sector Vered was born into. 2.8 yrs later, already a mother to a 1-yr old baby, Vered bravely left her own home, after she was repeatedly subjected to severe physical and mental abuse by her husband. She struggled for additional 3 years to finally get a divorce, which is considered a rare, almost forbidden act in this community. Although ostracized and regarded as a failure, for the first time in her life she was a free woman, following her own dreams instead of others. Vered continued to break the glass ceiling and enrolled in Law School, and today she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Gender Studies. In 2014 Vered established “The Legal Forum for Religious Women”, under which religious female lawyers stand up for abused and mistreated women, who are often transparent and silenced. On the occasion of  November 25th ,2016, Vered initiated the campaign “Be a Man”, which brought together politicians from both sides, Jews and Arabs, in a joint fight against violence towards women. In the photo, Vered is portrayed as a victor, standing proudly on the staircase leading to the entrance of the district court, blowing the Shofar*. Similarly, through her activities, Vered gives voice to women who cannot speak for themselves, like the woman she once used to be, but no more.

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* Shofar - a horn trumpet used by ancient Jews in religious ceremonies, as a battle signal as a call to reform or as hope for redemption. Nowadays sounded at the Jewish religious festivals of Rosh Ha’shanah and Yom Kippur in the Hebrew month of Tishrei.