The emancipation of women, the
achievement of full equality between the sexes,
is essential to human progress and the transformation
of society. Inequality retards not only the advancement of
women but the progress of civilization itself. The persistent
denial of equality to one-half of the world's
population is an affront to human dignity. It promotes
destructive attitudes
and habits in men and women that pass from
the family to the work place, to political life, and,
ultimately, to international relations. On no grounds, moral, biological,
or traditional, can inequality be justified. The moral and
psychological climate necessary to enable our nation
to establish social justice and to contribute to global peace
will be created only when women attain full partnership
with men in all fields of endeavor. 1
The systematic oppression
of women is a conspicuous and tragic fact of history. Restricted
to narrow spheres of activity in the life of society,
denied educational opportunities and basic human rights, subjected to
violence, and frequently treated as less than human, women
have been prevented from realizing their true potential.
Age-old patterns of subordination, reflected in popular culture,
literature and art, law, and even
religious scriptures, continue to pervade every aspect of life.
Despite the advancement of political and civil rights
for women in America and the widespread acceptance of equality
in principle, full equality has not been achieved.
The damaging effects of
gender prejudice are a fault line beneath the foundation of
our national life. The gains for women rest uneasily
on unchanged, often unexamined, inherited assumptions. Much
remains to be done. The achievement of full equality
requires a new understanding of who we are, what is our purpose
in life, and how we relate to one another an understanding
that will compel us to reshape our lives and thereby
our society.
At no time since the founding
of the women's rights movement in America has the need to focus
on this issue been greater. We stand at the threshold
of a new century and a new millennium. Their challenges are already
upon us, influencing our families, our lifestyles, our nation,
our world. In the process of human evolution, the ages
of infancy and childhood are past. The turbulence of adolescence
is slowly and painfully preparing
us for the age of maturity, when prejudice and exploitation
will be abolished and unity established. The elements
necessary to unify peoples and nations are precisely those
needed to bring about equality of the sexes and to improve
the relationships between women and men. The effort to overcome the
history of inequality requires the full participation of every
man, woman, youth, and child.
Over a century ago, for
the first time in religious history, Bahá'u'lláh,
the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, in announcing
God's purpose for the age, proclaimed the principle of the
equality of women and men, saying: "Women and
men have been and will always be equal in the sight of God."2
The establishment of equal rights and privileges for
women and men, Bahá'u'lláh says, is a precondition
for the attainment of a wider unity that will ensure the
well-being and security of all peoples. The Bahá'í Writings
state emphatically that, "When all mankind shall
receive the same opportunity of education and the equality
of men and women be realized, the foundations of war
will be utterly destroyed."3
Thus the Bahá'í vision
of equality between the sexes rests on the central spiritual
principle of the oneness of humankind. The principle
of oneness requires that we "regard humanity as a single
individual, and one's own self as a member of that corporeal
form," and that we foster an unshakable consciousness
that, "if pain or injury afflicts any member
of that body, it must inevitably result in suffering for all
the rest."4
Bahá'u'lláh
teaches that the divine purpose of creation is the achievement
of unity among all peoples: Know
ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should
exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how
ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance
it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with
the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell
in the same land, that from your inmost being,
by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and
the essence of detachment may be made manifest.5
The full and equal participation
of women in all spheres of life is essential to social and
economic development, the abolition of war, and the ultimate
establishment of a united world. In the Bahá'í Scriptures
the equality of the sexes is a cornerstone of God's plan for
human development and prosperity: The world of
humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female.
So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength,
the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree
as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary
attainment for humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot
wing its way to heights of real attainment. When the two wings
. . . become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives,
the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary.6
The Bahá'í Writings
state that to proclaim equality is not to deny that differences
in function between women and men exist but rather to affirm
the complementary roles men and women fulfill in the home and
society at large. Stating that the acquisition of knowledge
serves as "a ladder for [human] ascent,"Bahá'u'lláh
prescribes identical education for women and men but stipulates
that, when resources are limited, first priority should be
given to the education of women and girls.7 The education of
girls is particularly important because, although both parents
have responsibilities for the rearing of children, it is through
educated mothers that the benefits of knowledge can be most
effectively diffused throughout society.
Reverence for, and protection
of, motherhood have often been used as justification for keeping
women socially and economically disadvantaged. It is this discriminatory
and injurious result that must change. Great honor and nobility
are rightly conferred on the station of motherhood and the
importance of training children. Addressing the high station
of motherhood, the Bahá'í Writings state, "O
ye loving mothers, know ye that in God's sight, the best of
all ways to worship Him is to educate the children and train
them in all the perfections of humankind. . . ."8
The great challenge facing society is to make social and economic
provisions for the full and equal participation of women in
all aspects of life while simultaneously reinforcing the critical
functions of motherhood.
Asserting that women and
men share similar "station and rank" and "are
equally the recipients of powers and endowments from God,"the
Bahá'í teachings offer a model of equality based
on the concept of partnership.9 Only when women become full
participants in all domains of life and enter the important
arenas of decision-making will humanity be prepared to embark
on the next stage of its collective development.
Bahá'í Scripture
emphatically states that women will be the greatest factor
in establishing universal peace and international arbitration. "So
it will come to pass that when women participate fully and
equally in the affairs of the world, when they enter confidently
and capably the great arena of laws and politics, war will
cease; for woman will be the obstacle and hindrance to it."10
The elimination of discrimination
against women is a spiritual and moral imperative that must
ultimately reshape existing legal, economic, and social arrangements.
Promoting the entry of greater numbers of women into positions
of prominence and authority is a necessary but not sufficient
step in creating a just social order. Without fundamental changes
in the attitudes and values of individuals and in the underlying ethos
of social institutions full equality between women and men
cannot be achieved. A community based on partnership, a community
in which aggression and the use of force are supplanted by
cooperation and consultation, requires the transformation of
the human heart. The
world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated
over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities
both of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting;
force is losing its dominance, and mental alertness, intuition,
and the spiritual qualities of love
and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy.
Hence the new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with
the feminine ideals . . . an age in which the masculine and
feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced.11
Men have an inescapable
duty to promote the equality of women. The presumption of superiority
by men thwarts the ambition of women and inhibits the creation
of an environment in which equality may reign. The destructive
effects of inequality prevent men from maturing and developing
the qualities necessary to meet the challenges of the new millennium. "As
long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities," the
Bahá'í Writings state, "so long will
men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs."12
It is essential that men engage in a careful, deliberate examination
of attitudes, feelings, and behavior deeply rooted in cultural
habit, that block the equal participation of women and stifle
the growth of men. The willingness of men to take responsibility
for equality will create an optimum environment for progress: "When
men own the equality of women there will be no need for them
to struggle for their rights!"13
The long-standing
and deeply rooted condition of inequality must be eliminated.
To overcome such a condition requires the exercise of nothing
short of "genuine love, extreme patience, true humility,
consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate,
persistent, and prayerful effort."14
Ultimately, Bahá'u'lláh
promises, a day will come when men will welcome women in all
aspects of life. Now is the time to move decisively toward
that promised future.
Notes
1. See the Universal House of
Justice, The Promise of World Peace: To the Peoples of the
World (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, 1985), pp.26-27.
2. Bahá'u'lláh,
Women: Extracts from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh,
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House
of Justice, comp. Research Department of the Universal House
of Justice (Thornhill, Ontario: National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of Canada, 1986), no. 54.
3. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation
of Universal Peace: Talks delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during
His Visit to the United States
and Canada in 1912, comp. Howard MacNutt, 2d ed. (Wilmette,
Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982), p. 175.
4. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Secret
of Divine Civilization, trans. Marzieh Gail and Ali-Kuli Khan,
1st ps ed. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, 1990), p. 39.
5. Bahá'u'lláh,
The Hidden Words, trans. Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, 1939), Arabic, no. 68.
6. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation,
p. 375.
7. Bahá'u'lláh,
Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
comp. Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice, trans. Habib Taherzadeh et al., 1st ps ed. (Wilmette,
Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1988), p. 51.
8. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections
from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, comp. Research Department
of the Universal House of Justice,
trans. Committee at the Bahá'í World Centre and
Marzieh Gail (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, 1997), 114.1.
9.Bahá'u'lláh, quoted
in Women, no. 2; 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation, p. 300.
10. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation,
p. 135.
11. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted
in Wendell Phillips Dodge, "Abdul-Baha's Arrival in America," in
Star of the West 3 (April 28, 1912),
no. 3, p. 4.
12. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris
Talks: Addresses Given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1911,
12th ed. (London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust,
1995), 40.33
13. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris
Talks, 50.14.
14. Shoghi Effendi, The Advent
of Divine Justice, p. 40.
