ICJW is a member of the International Coalition for Agunah Rights - http://icar.org.il/en/ 

In Israel and around the world, thousands of women are refused a divorce unless they agree to their husband’s condition to relinquish marital assets and child support. According to Jewish law, even if the wife initiates the proceedings, only the husband can grant a divorce, and it must be done of his own free will. If the husband refuses to do so, the religious courts cannot grant a divorce in his stead.

ICAR's Chained campaign will highlight the plight of the Agunah or "Chained Woman." We turn to you, as a supporter of women's rights, to help us realize the potential of this day. In June 2007, ICAR, an international coalition of 25 organizations, together with The Association for Art in the Community, which is experienced in initiating social change and mobilizing thousands of people, will gather a massive audience in Rabin Square in Tel-Aviv for a public awareness and advocacy event. There we will unveil the largest embroidered patchwork dress ever sewn -18 meters (48 ft.) in height and 50 meters (150 ft.) in diameter. A balloon will raise the dress high above the assembled crowd, but the chains anchoring it to the ground will prevent the dress from breaking free, representing the Agunah who is bound by the chains of her recalcitrant husband.

ICAR recognizes that social change occurs only when policy makers understand that a large segment of the public demands that change. CHAINED intends to recruit a critical mass of thousands of people in Israel and the Diaspora to demand solutions to the Agunah issue within the framework of Jewish law.

20 top fashion designers have joined the ICAR 'CHAINED' campaign. These professionals are contributing their talents by designing dresses for a different kind of fashion show entitled "The Shattered Dream". The designs will be inspired by the ethnic origins of women unable to obtain a divorce and will record their cruel reality.

In order to realize our dream and attract maximum public attention for Chained, we need your help and support. We are asking you to join Chained by donating $15 to have your name embroidered on one piece of hand-embroidered fabric that will make an embroidered petition. Invite your friends to join you in breaking the chains tying women to dead marriages. The names of all donors will also appear in a commemorative book along with photographs documenting the design, embroidery and assembly of the dress and the poignant raising of this powerful symbol of the Agunah’s imprisonment.

The Chained campaign will make headlines around the world as the ultimate public demand on policy makers in the Jewish world. Please help us make this possible with your generous donation.

In order to keep up to date on the project's development, please visit us here and at the Chained website at http://www.aaccd.org/chained.html.