London council removes signs telling women which side of road to walk down

A local council in London has removed signs put up by a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) group telling women what side of the street to walk on. The posters which read, “Women should please walk along this side of the road only,” in both English and Yiddish were placed in London's Stamford Hill neighborhood. Hackney Council removed the posters after receiving multiple complaints, according to the Hackney Gazette. A member of a local Jewish group, the Shomrim, told the Gazette that the posters were put up for a Torah parade which took place in the neighborhood, and the request was intended for ultra-Orthodox women taking part in the event. “Traditionally at these Torah parades in the Orthodox Jewish community, which is usually attended by a large number of people, men and women are in separate groups as people dance and make physical contact with fellow dancers, which is avoided between the opposite gender in Orthodox Judaism,” Haim Hochhauser told the Gazette. Hochhauser said that he explained to the group that the signs could offend passersby who did not understand their context. The Stamford Hill neighborhood is home to one of the world's largest haredi communities outside of Israel, with some 20,000 ultra-Orthodox residing in the borough.

London council removes signs telling women which side of road to walk down

Posters which read, "Women should please walk along this side of the road only,” in both English and Yiddish were placed in London's Stamford Hill neighborhood.

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London council removes signs telling women which side of road to walk down

Posters which read, "Women should please walk along this side of the road only,” in both English and Yiddish were placed in London's Stamford Hill neighborhood.

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