A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
|
Equality of Men and Women |
|
One of the social principles to which Bahá’u’lláh attaches
great importance is that women should be regarded as the
equals of men and should enjoy equal rights and privileges,
147
equal education and equal opportunities.
|
|
The great means on which He relies for bringing about the
emancipation of women is universal education. Girls are to
receive as good an education as boys. In fact, the education
of girls is even more important than that of boys, for in time
these girls will become mothers, and, as mothers, they will be
the first teachers of the next generation. Children are like green
and tender branches; if the early training is right they grow
straight, and if it is wrong they grow crooked; and to the end
of their lives they are affected by the training of their earliest
years. How important, then, that girls should be well and
wisely educated!
|
|
Humanity is like a bird with its two wings—the one is
male, the other female. Unless both wings are strong and
impelled by some common force, the bird cannot fly
heavenwards. According to the spirit of this age, women
must advance and fulfill their mission in all departments
of life, becoming equal to men. They must be on the same
level as men and enjoy equal rights. This is my earnest
prayer and it is one of the fundamental principles of
Bahá’u’lláh. Some scientists have declared that the brains of men weigh more than those of women, and claim this as a proof of man’s superiority. Yet when we look around us we see people with small heads, whose brains much weigh little, who show the greatest intelligence and great powers of understanding; and others with big heads, whose brains must be heavy, and yet they are witless. Therefore the avoirdupois of the brain is no true measure of intelligence or superiority. When men bring forward as a second proof of their superiority the assertion that women have not achieved as much as men, they use poor arguments which leave history out of consideration. If they kept themselves more 148 fully informed historically, they would know that great women have lived and achieved great things in the past, and that there are many living and achieving great things today. |
|
Amongst the women of our own time is Qurratu’l-’Ayn,
the daughter of a Muḥammadan priest. At the time of the
appearance of the Báb she showed such tremendous
courage and power that all who heard her were astonished.
She threw aside her veil despite the immemorial
custom of the women of Persia, and although it was considered
impolite to speak with men, this heroic woman
carried on controversies with the most learned men, and
in every meeting she vanquished them. The Persian
Government took her prisoner; she was stoned in the
streets, anathematized, exiled from town to town, threatened
with death, but she never failed in her determination
to work for the freedom of her sisters. She bore persecution
and suffering with the greatest heroism; even in
prison she gained converts. To a Minister in Persia, in
whose house she was imprisoned, she said: “You can kill
me as soon as you like but you cannot stop the emancipation
of women.” At last the end of her tragic life came;
she was carried into a garden and strangled. She put on,
however, her choicest robes as if she were going to join
a bridal party. With such magnanimity and courage she
gave her life, startling and thrilling all who saw her. She
was truly a great heroine. Today in Persia, among the
Bahá’ís, there are women who also show unflinching
courage, and who are endowed with great poetic insight.
They are most eloquent, and speak before large gatherings
of people. Women must go on advancing; they must extend their 149 knowledge of science, literature, history, for the perfection of humanity. Erelong they will receive their rights. Men will see women in earnest, bearing themselves with dignity, improving the civil and political life, opposed to warfare, demanding suffrage and equal opportunities. I expect to see you advance in all phases of life; then will your brows be crowned with the diadem of eternal glory. |
Print Selection