Joan, if you aren't going to read the commentaries or any of the passages before or after the extract then don't bother quoting. 
I could do the same with the new testament or the koran and extract lovely quotes with no context and use them in any manner that suits me. I won't argue these points with you as it would be futile, you don't know enough about the texts themselves. 
 
Rachel: There is a difference between "modesty" and "brutality". It's quite obvious, if you perform a dictionary lookup on each of those terms I'm sure that you will be able to understand. 
Covering legs and arms, and hair if a Jewish woman is married is modesty.  
Being lashed and/or shot by the Taliban for being a woman and laughing in public, or not covering every part of your body (even the eyes) is brutality. 
Another difference is free will. If a woman in Israel (or New York, I bring that up because you did) chooses not to adhere to Orthodoxy, that is her choice and she is not discriminated against. Women in Israel are allowed to work, as in every other democratic country. Israel has had a female prime minister and many, many other female members of parliament. Tzipi Livne (a woman) won the highest percentage of votes in the last Israeli election - in which MEN were voting also. Doesn't sound too discriminatory to me.

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