Orthodox Woman Wins Right To Wear Skirt To Gym
Image by iStock
By Aiden Pink September 7, 2017
An Orthodox Jewish woman who was kicked out of a gym for working out in a skirt has reached a legal settlement with the fitness facility that will allow her to return and work out in the attire of her choosing.
Yosefa Jalal Wood-Isenberg sued the all-female gym Lucille Roberts after alleging that she was harassed, told she was “trespassing” and ultimately was banned because she was wearing a knee-length skirt, which the gym claimed was not appropriate attire.
As part of the settlement, Wood-Isenberg also received a monetary payment from Lucille Roberts.
Wood-Isenberg had been working out at home in the interim.
“I am so thankful that I and other Jewish women can work out in a facility without compromising our religious beliefs,” she said in a statement. “This is a joyous win for women who dress modestly. I thank God, our legal team, and all who supported us along the way.”
Her lawyer, Ilann Maazel, said the case was “an important victory for religious freedom. Observant Jewish women should be able to work out at a gym like anyone else, and now, at Lucille Roberts they can. We applaud Lucille Roberts for doing the right thing.”
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
