Women In Bahá'í Faith
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"Divine Justice demands that the rights of both sexes
should be equally respected since neither is superior to the
other in the eyes of Heaven. Dignity before God depends, not on
sex, but on purity and luminosity of heart. Human virtues belong
equally to all" -Abdu'l-Bahá
|
Two Wings
of a Bird
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.
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."1
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."2
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,"3
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,"7
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. 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,"9
the Bahá'í teachings offer a model of equality based on the concept of
partnership. 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.
Bahá'u'lláh, from a Tablet translated from the Persian and Arabic,
quoted in 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.
2.
'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.
3.
'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.
4.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 39.
5.
Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, trans. Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette,
Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1939), p. 20.
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,,
Tablet translated from the Persian and Arabic, 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.
Statement ©
by National Spiritual Assembly of Bahá'ís United States
