The lives of Israeli women, a nationally, ethnically, and religiously diverse category, reflect a complex of opportunities and barriers. Of 6,439,000 citizens in 2001, there were 77 percent Jews, 15 percent Muslims, 2 percent Christians, and 1.6 percent Druzes (Israel 2002, table 2.1). Nominally, women of all groups enjoy basic liberal civil rights, including the right to vote and be elected to political office, and the right to free, universal education, health services, and legal defense. Howe…