Jerusalem (PTI): Israel may be gearing up for its second woman Prime Minister, Tzipi Livni, but a bus company is refusing to put up posters of female contestants vying for city council elections.

The Egged bus company is not allowing posters to be put up citing deference of the ultra-orthodox community.

While the city buses are full of portraits of male candidates the bus company has rejected a request of Canaan advertising company to put portraits of women contesting the elections.

The portraits include"two fully clothed women",along with a man,running for the city council on a joint religious-secular list called Wake up Jerusalem-Yerushalmim, a party activist said.

"It is very sad that in Israel of 2008, women suffer such brazen discrimination, which is absolutely unacceptable," spokesperson forthe party Meirav Cohen, whose portrait was one of those banned, said.

The municipal elections will take place on November 11.

A spokesman for Canaanjustified the firm's decision.

"All advertisements are subject to the approval of the Egged censor," Canaan company spokesman Ohad Gibli told 'The Jerusalem Post'.

"In order not to offend the sensitivities of a certain public, certain criteria have been defined regarding the content of advertisements.Pictures of women cannot appear on buses that go through Haredi (ultra-orthodox)neighborhoods, Gibli said.

Spokesman of Egged bus company, Ron Ratner, reportedly said that the bus company was never asked about advertisements with the portraits of women running for the city council and would never have nixed them.