Module #11

Equality of Men and Women

“And among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is the equality of women and men. The world of humanity has two wings—one is women and the other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly. Should one wing remain weak, flight is impossible. Not until the world of women becomes equal to the world of men in the acquisition of virtues and perfections, can success and prosperity be attained as they ought to be.” 
{'Abdu’l-Bahá,  Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu’l-Bahá , sec. 227, p. 302}

OBJECTIVES :

	1)	What is the Bahá’í definition of the equality of men and women?

	2)	Is the equality of men and women a prerequisite for world peace? {yes}

	3) 	What allowed some men to dominate women? {Lack of opportunity, woman was denied the rights and privileges of education, and she was left in an undeveloped state.}

	4) 	What is the station of a women in relation to her children? {The primary educator}

	5) 	How can men champion the status of women?

	6) 	Are men and women the same, or are they different but complementary?

	7) 	What is the history of male-female relations in the Bahá’í Faith, starting with the 			Conference of Badasht in June 1848? What role have women played in Bahá’í 			history?

	8) 	What instructions are Bahá’í’s given for the raising of daughters and sons?

DEFINITIONS: (Basic Bahá’í Dictionary, Editor Wendi Momen, George Ronald Press, 1989)

Equality of men and women: 
One of the principles or tenets of Bahá’í social teaching. Bahá’u’lláh has stated: “Praised be God, the Pen of the Most High hath lifted distinctions from between His servants and handmaidens and . . . hath conferred upon all a station and rank on the same plane.” 
{Women Compilation, p. 1}

'Abdu'l-Baha spoke much about this principle when touring the West in 1911-13. While in America He spoke at a Woman's Suffrage Meeting in New York, stating: “In past ages it was held that woman and man were not equal - that is to say, woman was considered inferior to man, even from the standpoint of her anatomy and creation. She was considered especially inferior in intelligence, and the idea prevailed universally that it was not allowable for her to step. into the arena of important affairs. In some countries man went so far as to believe and teach that woman belonged to a sphere lower than human. But in this century, which is the century of light and the revelation of mysteries, God is proving to the satisfaction of humanity that all this is ignorance and error; nay, rather, it is well established that mankind and womankind, as parts of composite humanity, are coequal and that no difference in estimate is allowable, for all are human. The conditions in past centuries were due to woman's lack of opportunity. She was denied the right and privilege of education and left in her undeveloped state. Naturally, she could not and did not advance. In reality, God has created all mankind, and in the estimation of God there is no distinction as to male and female. The one whose heart is pure is acceptable in His sight, be that one man or woman. God does not inquire, Art thou woman or art thou man? He judges human actions. If these are acceptable in the threshold of the Glorious One, man and woman will be equally recognized and rewarded.

“Furthermore, the education of woman is more necessary and important than that of man, for woman is the trainer of the child from its infancy. If she be defective and imperfect herself, the child will necessarily be deficient; therefore, imperfection of woman implies a condition of imperfection in all mankind, for it is the mother who rears, nurtures and guides the growth of the child. This is not the function of the father. If the educator be incompetent, the educated will be correspondingly lacking. This is evident and incontrovertible. Could the student be brilliant and accomplished if the teacher is illiterate and ignorant? The mothers are the first educators of mankind; if they be imperfect, alas for the condition and future of the race…”

“The world of humanity consists of two parts: male and female. Each is the complement of the other. Therefore, if one is defective the other will necessarily be incomplete, and perfection cannot be attained. There is a right hand and a left hand in the human body, functionally equal in service and administration. If either proves defective, the defect will naturally extend to the other by involving the completeness of the whole; for accomplishment is not normal unless both are perfect. If we say one hand is deficient, we prove the inability and incapacity of the other; for single-handed there is no full accomplishment. Just as physical accomplishment is complete with two hands, so man and woman, the two parts of the social body, must be perfect. It is not natural that either should remain undeveloped; and until both are perfected, the happiness of the human world will not be realized.”
{‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 133-134}

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Women: 
Bahá’u’lláh has raised the status of women: “The status of woman in former times was exceedingly deplorable, for it was the belief of the Orient that it was best for woman to be ignorant. It was considered preferable that she should not know reading or writing in order that she might not be informed of events in the world. Woman was considered to be created for rearing children and attending to the duties of the household. If she pursued educational courses, it was deemed contrary to chastity; hence women were made prisoners of the household… Bahá’u’lláh destroyed these ideas and proclaimed the equality of man and woman. He made woman respected by commanding that all women be educated, that there be no difference in the education of the two sexes and that man and woman share the same rights. In the estimation of God there is no distinction of sex. One whose thought is pure, whose education is superior, whose scientific attainments are greater, whose deeds of philanthropy excel, be that one man or woman, white or coloured, is entitled to full rights and recognition; there is no differentiation whatsoever.” 
{‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 166}

One Bahá’í principle which demonstrates the high status of women is that women have priority of education over men: “… the education of woman is more necessary and important than that of man, for woman is the trainer of the child from its infancy…The mothers are the first educators of mankind; if they be imperfect, alas for the condition and future of the race…” {‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Women Compilation, p. 18} “Devote ye particular attention to the school for girls, for the greatness of this wondrous Age will be manifested as a result of progress in the world of women.” 
{‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Women Compilation, p. 20}

One result of providing women with an education is that peace will be established: “War and its ravages have blighted the world; the education of woman will be a mighty step. toward its abolition and ending, for she will use her whole influence against war. She will refuse to give her sons for sacrifice upon the field of battle. In truth, she will be the greatest factor in establishing universal peace and international arbitration. Assuredly, woman will abolish warfare among mankind.” 
{‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 109}

The Bahá’í Faith does not teach that men and women are the same, but rather that they have different but equal qualities which complement each other. One of the major obstacles to peace is that the qualities of the female are not fully realized in the world at large: “. . . men and women have basic and distinct qualities. The solution provided in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is not . . . for men to become women, and for women to become men. 'Abdu'l-Baha gave us the key to the problem when He taught that the qualities and functions of men and women “complement” each other. He further elucidated this point when He said the “new age” will be "an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more properly balanced.” 
{Universal House of Justice, Women Compilation,  p. 14-15}

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Martha Root:
Hand of the Cause, whom, in 1942, Shoghi Effendi called “that archetype of Bahá’í itinerant teachers and the foremost Hand raised by Bahá’u’lláh since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘s passing” and to whom he awarded the title of “Leading Ambassadress of His Faith and Pride of Bahá’í teachers, whether men or women, in both the East and the West.” 
{Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 386}

Martha Root was the first to arise in response to the call of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in The Tablets of the Divine Plan. She travelled around the world four times over a period of twenty years, travelling four times to China and Japan, three times to India, and visiting every major city in South America. She spoke of the Bahá’í Faith to “kings, queens, princes and princesses, presidents of republics, ministers and statesmen, publicists, professors, clergymen and poets, as well as a vast number of people in various walks of life, and contacted, both officially and informally, religious congresses, peace societies, Esperanto associations, socialist congresses, Theosophical societies, women's clubs and other kindred organizations…” {Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 386} Her eight successive audiences with Queen Marie of Rumania resulted in the Queen becoming a Bahá’í. Her death in Honolulu in September 1939 “brought to a close a life which may well be regarded as the fairest fruit as yet yielded by the Formative Age of the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh.” {Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 388}

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Notable Women: {For information on other notable Bahá’í women, please refer to Module #3}

Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum - born Mary Maxwell, wife of Shoghi Effendi
Bayíyyih Khánum - “Greatest Holy Leaf”, daughter of Bahá’u’lláh, sister of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Khadíjih-Bagum - The wife of the Báb
Munírih Khánum - The Holy Mother, wife of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Navváb - The wife of Bahá’u’lláh, Asíyyih Khánum, the “Most Exalted Leaf”
Táhirih - one of the 18 Letters of the Living

QUOTES:

“The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes, is one of the most important, though less acknowledged prerequisites of peace. The denial of such equality perpetrates an injustice against one half of the world's population and promotes in men harmful attitudes and habits that are carried from the family to the workplace, to political life, and ultimately to international relations. There are no grounds, moral, practical, or biological, upon which such denial can be justified. Only as women are welcomed into full partnership. in all fields of human endeavour will the moral and psychological climate be created in which international peace can emerge.”
{The Universal House of Justice, Promise of World Peace, paragraph #33}

“Inasmuch as this is the century of light, it is evident that the Sun of Reality, the Word, has revealed itself to all humankind. One of the potentialities hidden in the realm of humanity was the capability or capacity of womanhood. Through the effulgent rays of divine illumination the capacity of woman has become so awakened and manifest in this age that equality of man and woman is an established fact.... 

“In this day man must investigate reality impartially and without prejudice in order to reach the true knowledge and conclusions. What, then, constitutes the inequality between man and woman? Both are human. In powers and function each is the complement of the other. At most it is this: that woman has been denied the opportunities which man has so long enjoyed, especially the privilege of education.... 

“… The truth is that all mankind are the creatures and servants of one God, and in His estimate all are human. Man is a generic term applying to all humanity. The biblical statement "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" does not mean that woman was not created. The image and likeness of God apply to her as well. In Persian and Arabic there are two distinct words translated into English as man: one meaning man and woman collectively, the other distinguishing man as male from woman the female. The first word and its pronoun are generic, collective; the other is restricted to the male. This is the same in Hebrew. To accept and observe a distinction which God has not intended in creation is ignorance and superstition.... 

“It is my hope that the banner of equality may be raised throughout the five continents where as yet it is not fully recognized and established. In this enlightened world of the West woman has advanced an immeasurable degree beyond the women of the Orient. And let it be known once more that until woman and man recognize and realize equality, social and political progress here or anywhere will not be possible. For the world of humanity consists of two parts or members: one is woman; the other is man. Until these two members are equal in strength, the oneness of humanity cannot be established, and the happiness and felicity of mankind will not be a reality. God willing, this is to be so.”
{'Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 74-77}

RECOMMENDED READINGS :
	Biography of “Martha Root” compiled by Kay Zinky 
	“The Priceless Pearl” by Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum
	“Tahirih” by Martha Root
	Lights of Guidance
	Living the Life
	The Power of Unity
	Developing Distinct Bahá’í Communities - by the USA NSA
	Brilliant Star magazine