Transcript:Peter Khan/Women equality and peace

Transcript of: Women, equality and peace by Peter Khan

Proofread twiceDownload: mp3, Source: bahaimp3.narod.ru

[0:00] I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to speak on the subject of women and peace, and I want to begin by addressing the issue of why it is that such a subject is treated. What is the connection between women and peace? I think that connection is found in some very unusual and very striking statements from the World Center of the faith. For example, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written: "When the equality of men and women shall be realized, the foundation of war will be utterly destroyed. Without equality, this is impossible."

[0:38] And more recently, the Universal House of Justice in their statement The Promise of World Peace wrote, "The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes, is one of the most important, though less acknowledged prerequisites of peace." What I understand from these statements is that there are two very basic questions in the world. One is the achievement of the equality of men and women, the other the attainment of world peace. And these statements from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and from the House of Justice ally these two issues, ally them and moreover, point out that one is a prerequisite to the other. It follows from that, that with our concern for the achievement of world peace, we must necessarily direct our attention somewhat to the question of the equality of men and women and how this is to be realized through the power and influence of the Baháʼí teachings.

[1:38] So tonight I want to consider three principal issues. Firstly, the question of the equality of men and women. Secondly, the linkage between the role of women and the achievement of peace. And, thirdly and briefly, the means that are open to the Baháʼí community to foster the implementation of this equality. We do this in context of the present day environment, where the world around us exhibits a wide spectrum of views. On the one extreme the rise and growing influence of conservative fundamentalism in religion and in philosophy, which is largely antagonistic to the granting of greater rights to women. And on the other extreme, anti-male fanaticism with the extreme fringe of the feminist movement. We also must consider this question in context of the fact that the Universal House of Justice has in its statement on peace, offered the world Baháʼí community as a model for the achievement of unity and has warned us that with our emergence from obscurity, more and more shrewd, skeptical, and even suspicious people will scrutinize the Baháʼí community, will examine our record of achievement and behavior in an attempt to find discrepancy between statements of our teachings and our present day practice.

[3:23] So all of these are the contexts with which we examine the question of the equality of men and women and the efforts being made by the worldwide Baháʼí community to put it into practice. I want to begin by spending some time making a brief historical survey of the status and treatment of women down through the ages. One might say, well, why do this? Why don't we just examined the Baháʼí teachings and see what they say? My response to that question is that I think it is useful for us to look at the manner in which women have been treated historically because it provides a backdrop with which to adequately view and appreciate the Baháʼí principles. To appreciate their novelty, their significance, and their far-reaching consequence. It also enables us to better comprehend the challenge we face as Baháʼís to bring about the implementation of our principles in a non-Baháʼí environment, which largely functions according to a different approach.

[4:42] Let me begin by looking over a sense of history at the manner in which women have been regarded from a historical perspective. This of course is a controversial subject. There are some people who feel that women have been treated quite badly through history. There are others who maintain that this is an exaggeration, that in fact it hasn't been quite so bad. And one can find at times disagreement, even argument in the larger society and perhaps even within the Baháʼí community, over the manner in which women have been treated down through history. Well this question is very easily resolved. It's resolved by our turning to the authoritative statements of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and seeing what he says about the manner in which women have been treated over the course of history. And let me read to you two passages from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on this subject. Firstly, he says:

[5:55] "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."

[6:34] And one more of the many passages from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on this subject, he said

[6:39] "Formerly in India, Persia and throughout the Orient, she [that is, woman] was not considered a human being. Certain Arab tribes counted their women in with the live stock. In their language the noun for woman also meant donkey; that is, the same name applied to both and a man’s wealth was accounted by the number of these beasts of burden he possessed. The worst insult one could hurl at a man was to cry out, “Thou woman!”"

[7:13] "In former times it was considered wiser that woman should not know how to read or write; she should occupy herself only with drudgery."

[7:26] So we can see that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has very clearly and very succinctly expressed to us the manner in which women have been generally treated down through the ages. Why did ‘Abdu’l-Bahá write this? What does he mean with these very strong statements that I have read? I think when we look at the record of history, we find that the manner in which inequality has been expressed concerning women can be categorized into a number of images or a number of historical views about women. For example, one view in history was woman as being inferior, allied with Mother Nature. Woman is a source of fertility, having access to a mysterious, uncontrollable power. Woman used to sacrifice the forces of nature, we see this in the greater mother goddesses of antiquity and in the analogies used in the Old Testament in the Song of Solomon. Woman was regarded as having a mysterious power to be controlled with taboos and purification rites. Another historical view in which woman was treated as unequal was woman as enchantress, as an agent of evil, expressed through the use of sexuality to cause the downfall of man by his seduction from the exalted purposes of his life. Hence women were to be veiled and confined because of their sexual promiscuity. We see this today, echoes of it in the treatment of rape victims where quite often the defense is that the woman brought it on herself, she had it coming the way she behaved or the way she dressed.

[9:26] Another view was woman as inferior as a different mode of being: irrational, moody, emotional, not capable of receiving education. Another unequal expression of the treatment of woman and quite often found in Orthodox religion was woman as a model of virtue: pious, virginal, obedient, meek and submissive to the male; occupied entirely with domestic work with no legal or political power, and a woman who refers all questions which have any intellectual element to them, to a man, to her husband, her father, or her brother. This view of course pertained over a great deal of recorded history and became embodied even in some legal codes. The Napoleonic civil code in France in 1804 said those persons without rights at law are minors, married women, criminals, and the mentally deficient. Women had no rights of law under the Napoleonic Code of 904.

[10:43] Schopenhauer wrote that women should be under restriction and by their very nature they require a guardian and that they are made for obedience. So these various and other views of women were ways in which inequality was expressed. What has religion done about this? Again, we find the subject to be controversial. When we look at the role of religion in the treatment of women, there is again a wide spectrum of views, and once again we turn to the sacred and authoritative writings of our religion for guidance.

[11:24] Examining these Baháʼí text, I find three basic principles which helped me to understand the way in which women have been treated in religion. The first is expressed in a statement of Bahá’u’lláh where He says, "Women and men have been and will always be equal in the sight of God." So one principle, equality in the sight of God. The second principle is that of women having greater moral courage. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, "The woman has greater moral courage than the man; she has also special gifts which enable her to govern in moments of danger and crisis.” And the third principle is that religions historically have placed men above women. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, "He [that is Bahá’u’lláh] establishes the equality of man and woman. This is peculiar to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, for all other religions have placed man above woman."

[12:36] So three principles: equality in the sight of God, woman having greater moral courage, and all religions have placed man above woman. These three principles, I believe, are the foundation to illuminate examination of the way in which religions have treated women. We find, for example, on the question of equality in the sight of God, we can look in the authentic texts of the major religions of the world and find wonderful statements expressing this spiritual equality, in the words of the Manifestations of God where those words are extent in authentic form. So this equality is found in the Qur'an, in passages in the New Testament, in Galatians as well as in other sacred books.

[13:27] The second principle is that of moral courage. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says woman has greater moral courage than man. And when we look at religious history we find that women have played a disproportionate role in the early days of each religion, giving its strength, conviction, and governance. For example, consider the role of Mary Magdalene in Christianity, the role of Khadija in her support of Muhammed in the early days of His dispensation, and Fatimah, courage in support of Muhammed when he was subject to great persecution. Look at the record of Ṭáhirih, Navváb, Bahíyyih Khánum in the time of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Guardian. Bahíyyih Khánum's courageous support to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Guardian, her governance for a temporary period in the early days of the Guardianship. In these and other examples in religious history we find this moral courage of which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks.

[14:30] And the third principle that religions have placed man above woman. I think we have to hear this distinguish between social principles and spiritual value. Certainly when we look at the various religions of the world, we find there was a social distinction between men and women due to the prevailing social conditions or mores of the environment. Men were protectors of women and the like. However, the key issue, I believe, is not that of the social principles in the teachings of the various religions. It is rather that of the spiritual value of men in relationship to women. And here, I believe, that the record shows subjugation of women associated with the rise of a male priesthood and of a theology in each religion generally determined by males, and that I think is being the crucial issue in the treatment of women in religion. That with the passage of time, with the rise of a priesthood, with the development of a theology, religions tended to assign greater value to the men than to the women.

[15:48] For example in the Talmud we find this statement, "Blessed art thou, O Lord, who hast not made me a Gentile, an idiot, or a woman." In the Talmud. And in Corinthians in the New Testament: "the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church." The Christian theologians condemned women. Tertullian in the 2nd century AD condemned woman for the crucifixion of Christ, because he said that women have their nature originating with Eve, Eve seduced Adam from the exalted purpose of his life, this gave rise to original sin, as a consequence of original sin, Christ had to be crucified and descended into hell for three days, so he blames womankind for the crucifixion of Christ. And a passage from Tertullian says to women:

[17:00] "The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the devil's gateway: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack." And so on.

[17:17] One of the church councils in 585 AD said, "If women have souls they must be inferior to those of men... like the souls of beasts."

[17:29] The record of Islam as it deviated from its original teachings with its rise of ecclesiastical structure and theology, is no more exalted than that of Christianity. Generally, contemporary Muslim theologians have formulated a view of women which is based upon three principles. One, that biological differences such as menstruation cause inequality of women in relation to men. Secondly, that the male sex drive is uncontrollable and hence women should be secluded in everyday life. And thirdly, that the male has authority in the home. So we find with the resurgence of Muslim fundamentalism that present day Islamic law is becoming more and more discriminatory towards women, not only in their seclusion in the use of the veil, the restriction of rights of education, but in the legal structure. For example in one Muslim country today, if a woman accuses a man of rape and it's not proven, she herself is then charged with adultery. I read recently about a blind, pregnant teenager in a Muslim country who was sentenced to 15 lashes and three years in prison because she was unable to prove that she had been raped, difficult to prove because she was blind.

[19:08] This traditional view of the suppression of women, of the denial of their rights is to some extent resurgent in the world today with the rise of fundamentalism in Christianity, in Islam, in Hinduism and in other religions.

[19:27] Now let's look at the contemporary scene. Over the last 100 years we find a dual perspective. On the one hand there are significant developments in the move to equality. Yet on the other hand, there are deficiencies which still exist, which provide an arena for the Baháʼí community and the Baháʼí teachings to play an important role. There have been moves towards equality for example in education, the development of women's colleges coeducation in universities in the 19th and 20th centuries has provided a great impetus to equality. When Bahá’u’lláh passed away in 1892 no country in the world gave women voting rights equal to those of men. In no country of the world were women given the vote in 1892, when Bahá’u’lláh passed away, and in subsequent years beginning with New Zealand in 1893, and Australia in 1902, and then other countries after that, gradually nearly all the countries of the world which allow any form or voting, have given some degree of voting rights to women.

[20:51] It's interesting that in the United States as early as 1848 a women's rights convention produced a declaration calling for the sacred right to the elective franchise to be granted to women, although it was almost 80 years before that was brought into effect. In employment there have obviously been great strides forward in the opportunities for women in employment, in professions that are open to them although there is, of course, still resistance in the traditional professions such as medicine and law, the physical sciences.

[21:33] Lest we become too self-satisfied with the progress that has been made to the emancipation of women over the last 100 years, we should also consider what are some of the present day deficiencies. For example, the United Nations in 1980 determined that women who, of course, are one-half the world's population, do two-thirds of the work in the world. They get 1/10th of the income, own 1/100 of the world's property, and they are 2/3rds of the world's illiterates. So obviously there is still great deficiency. Female infanticide continues today in India and China. The shameful practice of female genital mutilation continues in many areas of the world. Wife burning in India is not uncommon when the wife produces insufficient dowry, and so on.

[22:39] The rise of fundamentalism I've referred to, there are many other such issues. The Baháʼí international community in New York in 1984 surveyed 70 National Spiritual Assemblies of the world asking their views about the status of women in their countries. And the response from these 70 National Spiritual Assemblies showed that this traditional inequality existed in almost all nations. Male dominance in decision making, restriction on freedom of women to travel, the machismo superiority attitude, the lack of appreciation of women's opinion in discussions. There are still major barriers to promotion in the workplace. Women tend to occupy the lower paid and less influential positions in most organizations. With the rise of vice in declining societies around the world, the position of women has been further jeopardized. The rise of pornography, the alliance of pornography and violence, the use of sexist advertising, the victimization of women by criminals and psychopaths, the fear of rape, the forcing of women into prostitution because of lack of employment opportunities. Women being identified as a scapegoat for unemployment, for marriage breakdown and child delinquency. All of these are examples of the deficiencies which still exists in the present day in the treatment of women.

[24:16] Before turning to the Baháʼí teachings, let us briefly look at the role of women historically in the family. Almost all human societies thus far have defined the man to be the head of the household, and this term has been interpreted in this way: that the wife is to be obedient to the husband, the male dominates in decision making, and the wife is mainly confined to the home. For example in Christianity we find in Ephesians:

[24:53] "Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands."

[25:14] And we find similar practices in the other societies of the world. The female reaction to this male domination in the home has been of two kinds. One kind is submissive acceptance, even playing up to it, the so-called helpless female syndrome that one reads about from time to time. And the other form has been suppressed rebellion through antagonism, through attempting to destroy the image of the husband with the children through backbiting and the like, all of these reactions to male domination within the home. One of the tragic features of human society has been the enforcement of male domination within the home by the use of physical force and its extreme form in wife beating. And most human societies seem to have been tainted with the stigma of this practice in distant times and in contemporary times.

[26:31] British common law in the 19th century authorized the husband "to chastise his wife with any reasonable instrument". Later the courts were called upon to define what they meant by a reasonable instrument and they defined it to be a rod no thicker than a man's thumb. In other words a man could chastise his wife, provided he used a rod, a piece of wood no thicker than his thumb. In 1871, courts in the United States decided it was time to rescind an ancient privilege, and that ancient privilege was that of the right of the man to beat his wife with a stick, to pull her hair, choke her, spit in her face or kick her about the floor, or to inflict upon her like indignities. These are pastures quoted from the ruling of a United States court in 1871. They said the time has come for us to start rescinding this kind of practice.

[27:39] And as, I'm sure, many of you are well aware wife beating is not unknown in the present day. I was reading recently a report of a court case in New York state where a woman was convicted of killing her husband, and in the trial it came out that he had kicked her downstairs, he'd locked her in the trunk of the car. He'd held her under a scalding shower, and burnt her with cigarettes. The end of that, over a period of years, she killed him, and she's now serving a prison term of 15 years to life. So wife beating is a problem which exists in the present day as well as the distant past. A recent sociological study of wife beating came to this conclusion, "Full sexual equality is essential for the prevention of wife beating."

[28:41] Now, with that survey complete, let us turn to an examination of the Baháʼí teachings on this very important and quite complex subject. The Guardian says the position of women in the Baháʼí teachings is not only legal, but also spiritual and educational. And we can consider these teachings under several categories.

[29:07] Firstly, the intrinsic principle of equality. And I will quote from a number of passages, most of which are found in the compilation on women recently issued by the Universal House of Justice, and prepared by the Research Department at the Baháʼí World Center. Firstly, on the principle of equality, there are statements for example of Bahá’u’lláh where He says, "In this Day the Hand of divine grace hath removed all distinctions. The servants of God and His handmaidens are regarded on the same plane." And ‘Abdu’l-Bahá refers to men and women and says, "From the spiritual viewpoint, there is no difference between them." So our statements in our religious writings are very clear and explicit: from the spiritual viewpoint, there is no difference between men and women. In another place ‘Abdu’l-Bahá refers to the world of humanity as having two parts, male and female, and says each is the compliment of the other. From the spiritual viewpoint no difference, in practical consequence each is a compliment of the other. There are statements where the writings call upon men and women to avoid exaltation of one over the other, and which state that the laws should be equally applicable to men and to women.

[30:40] Secondly, the Baháʼí teachings on marriage and on the family. Here we find a important and significant difference between the Baháʼí teachings and the practice in human societies around the world for centuries and probably for millennia. Because in our religion the relationship in marriage and within the family is to be based upon equality, with consultation, without domination of one over the other. Let me read some passages. The House of Justice said, "The atmosphere within a Bahá’í family as within the community as a whole should express ‘the keynote of the Cause of God’ which, the beloved Guardian has stated, ‘is not dictatorial authority, but humble fellowship, not arbitrary power, but the spirit of frank and loving consultation.’"

[31:44] In another place, the House of Justice referred to decision making between husband and wife. They said, "Family consultation employing full and frank discussion, animated by awareness of the need for moderation and balance, can be the panacea for domestic conflict. Wives should not attempt to dominate their husbands, nor husbands their wives." Note the contrast between this and the male domination in decision making, which has been a feature of marriage down through the ages. On this point of consultation, we as Baháʼís are familiar with Baháʼí consultation in a larger setting where the majority view applies. What happens in a marriage where there is husband and wife, and consultation is occurring? How are decisions to be made? The House of Justice said, "There are times … when a wife should defer to her husband, and times when a husband should defer to his wife, but neither should ever unjustly dominate the other." And in another place, the House of Justice further clarified this point by saying exactly under what circumstances such deference should take place is a matter for each couple to decide. The House of Justice has found it necessary on at least one occasion to write about family violence and wife beating. And let me read you the statement of the House of Justice on this subject:

[33:25] "Violence in the family is antithetical to the spirit of the Faith and a practice to be condemned. If the broad structure of society is to remain intact, resolute efforts, including medical ones, as necessary, should be made to curb acts of aggression within families, particularly their extreme forms of wife beating and child abuse by parents."

[34:09] Bahá’u’lláh himself in one passage has referred to the importance of avoiding tyranny of women by men. And again let me read that passage. Bahá’u’lláh states:

[34:26] "The friends of God must be adorned with the ornament of justice, equity, kindness and love. As they do not allow themselves to be the subject of cruelty and transgression, in like manner they should not allow such tyranny to visit the handmaidens of God."

[34:52] Woman has the primary responsibility of being the first educator of the child, just as man has the primary responsibility of being the breadwinner of the family. If that was all there were to the Baháʼí teachings, our position would be quite traditional: woman in the home, man outside as breadwinner. But that is not all. There is provision in the Baháʼí writings for role flexibility, and it states very clearly that the place of woman is not confined to the home. Let me read a passage from the House of Justice. The House of Justice states:

[35:34] "The concept of a Baháʼí family is based on the principle that the man has primary responsibility for the financial support of the family, and the woman is the chief and primary educator of the children. This by no means implies that these functions are inflexibly fixed and cannot be changed and adjusted to suit particular family situations, nor does it mean that the place of woman is confined to the home. Rather, while primary responsibility is assigned, it is anticipated that fathers would play a significant role in the education of the children and women could also be breadwinners."

[36:20] So our teachings allow for a significant degree of role flexibility, far more than exists in traditional society. The role of women in society in the Baháʼí teachings arises from the fact that our teachings call for an identical curriculum for girls as for boys. Traditionally in most Western societies the boys study physical sciences and the girls do domestic science or domestic arts. An identical curriculum would mean that the girls also would study the physical sciences, and the boys also would study domestic arts. And there would be a greater capability and a greater preparation for the world of the future.

[37:08] The writings identify special areas where women can play a significant role. For example, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks of women entering confidently and capably the great arena of laws and politics, and says that is important for war to cease. In another place, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, woman must especially devote her energies and abilities towards the industrial and agricultural sciences, seeking to assist mankind in that which is most needful. So these and other passages disclose our larger view of the role of women outside the home: in industry, agriculture, law, politics and other areas. And the House of Justice has stated, "In the Tablet of the World, Bahá’u’lláh Himself has envisaged that women as well as men would be breadwinners."

[38:13] And there are other passages which identify in the Baháʼí teachings the legitimacy of the role of women as income producers and calls upon women to determine how best they can fulfill that, together with the responsibilities of motherhood. The House of Justice states, "It is for every woman, if and when she becomes a mother, to determine how best she can discharge on the one hand her chief responsibility as a mother, on the other, to the extent possible, to participate in other aspects of the activities of the society of which she forms a part…."

[38:58] So much for some of the Baháʼí teachings on the equality of men and women, there are two other teachings though I would like to mention. Our teachings on sexual morality provide a wonderful protection to women as well as to men to freely mix in the day to day activities of society, outside the home, in social mixing, in business, in professions, in schools and the like without the problems, for example, of sexual harassment, which has become quite a problem to a number of women in their involvement in the larger society, and so our teachings on sexual morality liberate the both men and women for this larger interaction in the broader dimensions of society.

[39:53] And we, I think, should not fail to mention the importance of the covenant. Because the covenant is a protection to women in many ways. Through the infallibility of the Universal House of Justice, the faith is protected from corruption, and the legislation of the House of Justice will authentically express the spirit of equality in our teachings. Another dimension of the covenant is that it avoids the establishment of a priesthood, when we have seen historically that a priesthood has been so detrimental to the rights of women. Much more than that, it avoids institutions of the faith perpetuating behavior of a priestly nature, acting like priests, making dogmatic statements, which would then be from a fallible perspective and could reflect a prejudice against women. So the covenant is in many ways a vital protection to women.

[40:56] Let me now turn more specifically to the question of women and peace. The history of the 19th and 20th centuries indicates that there has been a significant alliance between the efforts of women to gain emancipation, to gain the right to vote and to participate in society and their concern for peace. Maybe take just one example, the Women's Peace Festival held on the 2nd of June 1873, well over 100 years ago. Held in large cities in the United States and Europe, it arose from an organization of women who were appalled at the degree of suffering that occurred in the Franco-Prussian War, formed a women's organization to promote the Women's Peace Festival to bring about peace. And this festival of 1873 called for the following measures:

One, the abolition of war through general disarmament

The formation of a Congress of nations with compulsory jurisdiction over the nations of the world

The abolition of the sale of liquor is a disturber of peace

The prohibition of the sale and caring of deadly weapons

The removal of inequality based on sex, color, or race, and

The identification of the role of women to protest against war and to offer arbitration for the settlement of disputes

[42:44] Over 100 years ago a women's organization in North America and Europe was calling for international government to bring about general disarmament of the nations of the world and compulsory arbitration to settle international disputes. This Women's Peace Festival ultimately fell into division due to disunity over the issue of American military policy toward the American Indians in the 19th century. But it led to a number of organizations which persist to the present day, for example the Women's Peace Party associated with Jane Addams, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Women's Peace Station of 1921.

[43:33] The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom made proposals to the 1919 Peace Conference in Paris at the conclusion of World War I. They made a number of proposals to bring about a lasting peace. These proposals were rejected by the 1919 Peace Conference. One of the people present at that conference with a man called Gunnar Jahn. In 1946, 27 years Later, he was part of the Nobel Institute in Scandinavia which awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Emily Bulk for her work with Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. And at that time he made this statement, he said:

[44:21] "I want to say so much. It would have been extremely wise if the proposal the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom made to the conference in 1919 had been accepted by the conference. But few of the men listened to what the women had to say. The atmosphere was too bitter and revengeful. On top of this was the fact that the proposal was made by women. In our patriarchal world, suggestions which come from women are seldom taken seriously." And Gunner Jahn concluded with these words, "Sometimes it would be wise of the men to spare their condescending smiles."

[45:09] So, my point is simply to indicate that women have been associated with the achievement of peace in a very significant way in the 19th and 20th century. Now what can we say about the Baháʼí approach to peace and to the alliance between the equality of men and women and the achievement of peace? I think it rests upon three major principles. The first of these is our principle of the organic unit, and this is a familiar concept to most Baháʼís. We believe that the kind of society we want to form through the Baháʼí administrative order is an organic unit. Is like a living being, interconnected, the welfare of each element interactively relating to the welfare of the whole. And this is very relevant to the question of the equality of men and women because our teachings indicate, firstly, that peace requires unity. In order to have peace, we must have unity. This unity implies oneness of mankind. If we don't have oneness of mankind, we don't have a basic unity, we don't have peace. And equality of men and women is fundamental for the oneness of mankind. It is not just a question of relationship between races or segments of society, it is also a question of relationship between men and women. So in that sense, the equality of men and women is a basic element of the formation of an organic unit of human society, with all the spiritual powers which our teachings identify with the organic unit.

[46:56] The House of Justice, in its statement on peace, indicates that inequality produces harmful attitudes in men which transfer to the larger society. And this is a concept stated also by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in several places. For example, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, "As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs." And referring to men and women, he says: "if one is defective, the other will necessarily be incomplete, and perfection cannot be attained. … If either proves defective, the defect will naturally extend to the other."

[47:51] So what I get from these passages is if women are denied equality, men also are prevented from achieving their fullest development. Or, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, men are prevented from achieving the greatness which might be theirs. So in a very real sense, men are held hostage to women, that if the male segment of our population denies equality to women, then those males are themselves prevented from fulfilling their potential, from realizing what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá describes as the greatness which might be theirs.

[48:49] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in many places, refers to the important role to be played by mothers in the achievement of peace, and he refers to the fact that mothers will not willingly send their sons to war to be shot down and mercilessly killed for some cause over the territoriality, or the like, after those sons have been reared for 20 or so years. And I think there are deeper significances which go beyond simply the sending of sons to war, that motherhood involves unselfish action in nurturing and caring for others. It involves the sacrifice of one self to the individual embryo growing within, and the feeding of this new creation with one's own milk, with the product of one's own body, so that the very process of motherhood gives rise to the sense of unselfishness, the sense of nurturance and caring for others rather than the sense of dominance and control. And what the world needs for the achievement of peace is this greater sense of nurturance and a lesser sense of dominance. And this may also be another element to the important role that women will play in the achievement and preservation of peace.

[50:28] Let me conclude now by briefly mentioning some of the elements that I find within the Baháʼí writings to guide us in implementing the Baháʼí principle of the equality of men and women. What guidelines should we use? What things should we be careful of. What should we avoid? What should we do in order to bring about the equality of men and women? And I think there are five basic principles. The first is that we are enjoined in our writings to avoid the use of force or demonstration. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, "Demonstrations of force, such as are now taking place in England, are neither becoming nor effective in the cause of womanhood and equality." Our approach is not through the use of force. The second principle, I think, is a recognition that any change is evolutionary. We would desire to be instantaneous, to occur overnight, but that's not the way humans work. It is evolutionary. The House of Justice, in a statement on their behalf, wrote,

[51:48] "The principle of the equality between women and men, like the other teachings of the Faith, can be effectively and universally established among the friends when it is pursued in conjunction with all the other aspects of Baháʼí­ life. Change is an evolutionary process requiring patience with one’s self and others, loving education and the passage of time as the believers deepen their knowledge of the Faith, gradually discard long-held traditional attitudes and progressively conform their lives to the unifying teachings of the Cause."

[52:30] Patience, evolution, gradual development, loving education, the passage of time, patience with one's self and others. The third principle is the need to avoid contention between men and women. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá referred to a women's assemblage formed by the Baháʼí women of Iran for the promotion of knowledge and in writing advice to that assemblage he said:

[53:00] "It should be done in such a way that differences will, day by day, be entirely wiped out, not that, God forbid, it will end in argumentation between men and women. … In brief, ye should now engage in matters of pure spirituality and not contend with men."

[53:21] And I think we have seen in the larger society the futility and sterility of the polarization, of antagonism between men and women on this issue, and we are told in our teachings we must avoid this. Our writings tell us that a great responsibility rests upon men to encourage women and to eradicate the male assumption of superiority. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:

[53:50] "The assumption of superiority by man will continue to be depressing to the ambition of woman, as if her attainment to equality was creationally impossible; woman's aspiration toward advancement will be checked by it, and she will gradually become hopeless. On the contrary, we must declare her capacity is equal, even greater than man's. This will inspire her with hope and ambition."

[54:22] So my understanding of this passage that men have a great responsibility to offer sincere and genuine and constructive encouragement to women in all areas of development and advancement, and to eliminate what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá describes as the assumption of superiority by man. And the final principle is the importance of women striving through their own efforts at self-development and accomplishment. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, "Woman must endeavour to attain greater perfection, to be man’s equal in every respect, to make progress in all in which she has been backward, so that man will be compelled to acknowledge her equality of capacity and attainment." And I think these five principles underlie a constructive Baháʼí approach to the implementation of this principle of equality of men and women, which can bring the Baháʼí community so much renown in the world.

[55:37] I'd like to conclude my presentation tonight by reading to you a poem called "The Seeker", written by a Baháʼí Gertrude Robinson and published in a Baháʼí World volume about 40-45 years ago. And I read this poem because although the title is "The Seeker", I believe it expresses very clearly and very eloquently the aspirations of women which we as Baháʼís, are committed to the support and nurture and [?]. So I conclude with this poem:

There must be loveliness I have not known
Else hunger would not be so deep.
Despair would crush me,
But this yearning passion for the altitudes
Beyond my ken
Knows but one answer,
Full completion.

No cry can be so faint, but finds response
Somewhere in all infinity;
And so my soul shall keep its inner urge
To scale the unseen heights
And breathe the unimagined airs
Of rarified and mystic climes.

Somewhere all Beauty waits
Beyond the Seven Valleys of the soul;
And naught shall keep my hungry heart
From seeking through the endless reach
Of all Eternity
The loveliness my heart has never known.

[57:21] Thank you.