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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Morgan Wilson, Feminism, Men and the Baha'i Faith, bahai-library.com.
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Feminism, Men and the Bahá'í Faith
Morgan Wilson
published in 75 Years of the Bahá'í Faith in Australasia
Rosebery: Association for Bahá'í Studies Australia, 1996
Introduction
The topic of this paper is, broadly speaking, gender issues in the Bahá'í Faith.
This paper approaches the subject in two ways; firstly by looking at feminism and the
Bahá'í Faith, and secondly by looking at men and the Bahá'í Faith. The two
parts of the paper are quite distinct, but they are inter-related and hopefully they
balance each other.
1. Feminism and the Bahá'í Faith
There are two preliminary issues that I would like to address.
The first concerns what I mean when I write 'feminism'. Strictly speaking,
this is an inaccurate usage. There is not a single definitive 'Feminism', only a
large variety of feminisms.[1] There is insufficient space to list the different types of feminism, but some of the main groupings are: liberal feminism, radical feminism, marxist feminism,
post-modern feminism, feminisms concerned with women of racial minorities, and
eco-feminism. When I mention feminism, my intention is to include all of the different
types of feminism. I think that there is enough in common between the feminisms - i.e.
identifying and removing the subordination of women wherever it occurs - to be able to
write about feminism without adjectives.[2] However, it will still be true that whenever I mention anything about feminism, these statements will be inaccurate for at least some type or types of feminism.
The second preliminary issue concerns my own position as a man writing in and about
feminism. There are two things which need to be raised. Firstly, men should be encouraged
to think and write about feminism, as I have been by my feminist friends. Although
primarily concerned with women, feminism should not be restricted to women. Anybody
concerned with the way people are treated should be concerned with feminism, given that
half the world's population if female. Also, if men study feminism, they can learn to
understand and support it, make changes in their own lives, as well as influence other
men. The process of ending the subordination of women would surely be hastened if men
increasingly came to support the process, rather than being hostile or indifferent to the
process. On the other hand (and this is the second thing I wish to mention here, and is of
equal importance), men involved in feminism need an additional measure of humility. It is
one thing to be trying to empathise with another viewpoint, it is something very different
to inherently possess that viewpoint - and men must be aware of and respect this
difference. And there must be no valid reason for any one to suspect that feminism is
being 'hijacked' by men.
The main aim of this section on feminism and the Bahá'í Faith is to prepare
Bahá'í scholars as well as the larger Bahá'í community for the inevitable
encounter that I think must occur between the Bahá'í Faith and feminism. Before
proceeding, I will take some time to elaborate on why I think that such an encounter will
occur.
As I have said before and as I will say again in detail, there are some things about
the Bahá'í Faith that feminists will definitely object to. Yet at the moment, most
feminists do not know enough about the Bahá'í Faith to be aware of the areas that
they might not agree with. Even if some feminists did know of these areas, it is very
unlikely that they would be overly concerned about what the Bahá'í teachings were
anyway, since the Bahá'í Faith is such a small religion.
Yet because of Shoghi Effendi's and the Universal House of Justice's vision
of 'entry by troops' and 'mass conversion,'[3] I believe as a
Bahá'í that the Bahá'í Faith is going to grow significantly in the near
future. We know that this growth in numbers will be followed by and associated with
various forms of opposition to the Bahá'í Faith.[4] I think it and natural and inevitable that as the
Bahá'í Faith grows, feminists (as well as scholars of all backgrounds) will begin
taking it seriously and studying it, and when they do this, they will see things in the
Bahá'í Faith that they will not like, and at least some will try to oppose the
Faith.
This encounter between the Bahá'í movement and the feminist movement is best
viewed as a challenge that offers both negative and positive possibilities for the
Bahá'í Faith. It is our duty, as Bahá'ís and aspiring Bahá'í
scholars, to do what we can to minimise the negative and maximise the positive that can
come from this encounter. It is with this in mind that I have devised the following plan
of action.
This plan of action has four inter-related parts:
Studying feminism.
Defending the Bahá'í Faith against actual and potential feminist criticism.
Showing the good that the Bahá'í Faith can do for women.
Striving to apply the Bahá'í teachings on gender equality in the Bahá'í community.
The first part of the plan of action is to study feminism. Ideally this will take the
form of an on-going commitment or interest. When we study feminism, we will see that
feminism is not really "the enemy". In a lot of areas the Bahá'í Faith
and feminism are completely compatible and are true allies. This must always be
remembered, even when we speak of 'opposition' and 'encounters'.
Sometimes friends do misunderstand each other.
By studying feminism we will find that the Bahá'í Faith can and must learn
things from feminism. It will also become evident that feminism would be more effective if
it embraced some Bahá'í insights.
Also, it is only by being informed about feminism that it be possible for us to do the
other three things in the plan of action. If we are ignorant about what feminism is really
about, we will not be able to understand feminist criticism of the Bahá'í Faith,
let alone make an adequate defence. We will not realise what the Bahá'í teachings
can offer to feminism, and we will not be able to effectively identify and remedy whatever
sexual inequality may exist within the Bahá'í community.
The second part of the plan of action is to defend the Bahá'í Faith from
feminist critiques.
There are numerous parts of the Bahá'í Faith that most feminists will find
problematic, to put things mildly. Here is a non-exhaustive list, ranging from the
relatively well-known to the relatively obscure.
That only men can be elected to the Universal House of Justice.
The bias towards men in the Bahá'í intestasy laws.
That the Bahá'í construction of and emphasis on motherhood reinforces
traditional gender stereotypes.[5]
The condemnation of homosexual relationships. (Some feminists view compulsory
heterosexuality as being one of the main pillars of patriarchy[6]). We need to explain the Bahá'í teachings on homosexuality, and show how liberating the Bahá'í
teachings on gender can be.
We need to explain why marriage is emphasised so much in the Bahá'í Faith and
show how our view on marriage and morality is different from other outworn views.
We need to look at Bahá'í views about contraception and abortion, issues that
are quite central for most contemporary feminists.[7]
The whole concept that men and women have equal stations but different functions.
Feminists are often very wary of 'equal but different' arguments.[8] Some conservative Christian
and Muslim groups, in which women have a clearly subordinate position, have similar
concepts of equality. We need to show that our concept is distinct - at least in the
application, if not in the theory.
The exemptions that women can have for obligatory prayer, fasting and pilgrimage.[9]
We have to resist the temptation to sweep these issues under the carpet. That is no
answer, the only answer is to face these issues head on and deal with them, difficult as
it is. It is ultimately futile to try to hide these things, try as we might, they will
eventually get out into the open anyway, and when they do they will cause great damage.
This will be especially so if we have spent all of our time telling people how good the
Bahá'í Faith is for women. People could justifiably think that Bahá'ís have
been less than honest, offering things to women with one hand while taking things away
with the other hand.
The immediate task is one of damage control. It is vital that we explain what these
things do and don't mean, and give a sympathetic interpretation of these things - an
interpretation that is as least problematic to feminists as possible.
Of course, this cannot be taken too far. We cannot misrepresent or misinterpret the
Bahá'í teachings so as to avoid offending anyone. At the end of the day, we have to
stand by our sympathetic interpretation and defend it as best we can.
One possible defence strategy is to argue that these problematic areas are to be
interpreted with reference to the general teaching of the equality of men and women, and
not vice versa.[10]
From here, it might be possible to find a favourable reason for the particular thing.
Sometimes - as is the case with the membership of the Universal House of Justice - no
favourable reason can be found. In these circumstances, all that can be done is to attempt
to put the matter in context, and show that all the ways in which the Bahá'í Faith
can benefit women (part three of the plan of action) will more than adequately compensate
for this area of inequality.
There are no easy victories here. It is likely that each answer, far from satisfying
critics, will raise in turn a many other questions. Success is not about trying to find
the one 'Answer' that will silence critics, but being able and willing to
participate in an on-going dialogue.
Part three is showing how the Bahá'í Faith can benefit women. This is perhaps
the most exciting area to work in, because it involves looking at the positive and at the
links between feminism and the Bahá'í Faith. There is already a substantial body of
Bahá'í scholarship in this area.[11] Listed below are some topics in this category which might also be
studied:
The potential of the Bahá'í Faith in solving the problem of the 'second
shift'[12].
This problem arises in families where both spouses are employed, yet it is still the woman
who ends up doing most of the housework.
Radical feminists often argue that it is far from adequate to treat women as the
legal equals of men.[13] Doing this is not only ineffective in bringing about real sexual
equality, it justifies existing sexual inequality by claiming these things to be
manifestations of real gender differences. For example, that there are still comparatively
very few female politicians or business women with real power, despite the absence of
legal impediments, is often explained by saying that women just aren't interested in
or are good at these things. In reality, it is not equality to be allowed to play a game,
if the rules (which you didn't make and can't change) work against you. It often
seems as if women can only be equals to the extent that they are like men. To the extent
that women work in different jobs than men, have family responsibilities that men
don't have, act differently from the way that men are meant to act in our
capitalistic system (first and foremost as rational, self-interested and independent
wealth maximisers), become pregnant or have the possibility of becoming pregnant, to this
extent women can't have equality. At the moment, if a woman wants political or
economic success, she will have to act like a man. There is ample scope here for
Bahá'ís to show how Bahá'í concepts can add to such arguments.
How the Bahá'í Faith is more likely to be successful in influencing men than
feminists ever could. As I said earlier, there is a large degree of overlap between
feminism and the Bahá'í Faith. This means that for Bahá'í men, many feminist
truths are (or ought to be) of the highest moral authority.[14]
Also, the Bahá'í Faith is more likely to be successful in influencing
conservative groups in society than feminists could. There is also a high level of
polarisation between feminists and conservative groups at the moment - there is virtually
no dialogue between the two[15], except for an exchange of insults. The Bahá'í community embraces
many diverse elements, including those who are conservative and those who are progressive
on gender issues. Within the Bahá'í community, these issues can be dealt with.
Admittedly this will not be easy, but at least people will be able to disagree and still
respect and listen to each other, and in time a resolution might be found.
This flows on to the fourth and final part of the plan of action: applying the
Bahá'í teachings on sexual equality to the Bahá'í community. This is perhaps
the most difficult thing of all to do, because it will test the unity of the Bahá'í
community at a time when the utmost unity and focus are required. However, for my part, I
find it difficult to see how local and national Bahá'í administrative institutions
could be regarded as mature if they do not address this. Another reason why this must be
done is Bahá'u'lláh's warning that we as Bahá'ís mustn't let
our deeds differ from our words.[16] If we are saying to the world that the Bahá'í Faith upholds the
equality of men and women, and saying how beneficial the Bahá'í Faith can be for
women, then we have no choice but to ensure that we are doing our utmost to put these
Bahá'í teachings into practice. Otherwise, our words will mean nothing and will
command no respect, and we will be defenceless against accusations of hypocrisy and worse.
This is potentially a large area, and I can only mention a few of the questions that we
should be asking.[17] Who is doing what in the Bahá'í communities? If a Bahá'í
public meeting is being held, who are the speakers, and who is washing up the cups and
looking after the kids? Who are the chairpeople of our assemblies, and who are the
secretaries? Who does most of the talking at nineteen day feasts and assembly meetings and
Bahá'í studies conferences? Who teaches and runs our children's classes? We
need to be asking these questions on a local, regional, national, continental and
international level. And if the answers show that these things are not being fairly shared
between men and women (as I suspect will be so, but I can do no more than suspect this),
we need to work out why, and remedy the problem.
2. Men and the Bahá'í Faith
Why am I writing about this topic?[18] Immediately after looking at feminism and the
Bahá'í Faith, I feel persuaded to think that men must be the most fortunate
creatures in the universe. But I am afraid that I cannot be swayed. From my own bitter
experience I know that men are really suffering at the moment.
Near the beginning a book intended to be an introduction to the men's movement, Manhood,
the author Steve Biddulph wrote the following:
Here are some of the facts about being a man in the late 20th Century:
Men on average live for six years less than women do.
Men routinely fail at close relationships. (Just two indicators: forty percent of
marriages break down, and divorces are initiated by the woman in four out of five cases.)
Over ninety percent of convicted acts of violence will be carried out by men,
seventy percent of the victims will be men.
In school, around ninety percent of children with behaviour problems are boys and
over eighty percent of children with learning problems are also boys.
The leading cause of death amongst men between 12 and 60 is self-inflicted death.
Surely, the most powerful reflection on the male gender is its suicide rate. Men and
boys commit suicide five times more frequently than women. (The rate for men exceeds the
road toll, though the two are probably blurred together. A 'single vehicle
accident' is often impossible to differentiate.)[19]
That women are also suffering does not make men's suffering less real, and vice
versa.
It would seem that men are in a very degraded position at the moment. Arguably
men's degradation is more severe, because it appears to be primarily self-inflicted.
Women's degradation is almost entirely caused by external factors - which makes it
more unjust and unacceptable, but not as degrading.
Thinking about all this made me curious about what the Bahá'í writings say about
men and masculinity. I had a look and could not find one good thing in the Bahá'í
writings about men! All I could find were rather negative statements about masculinity.
Men have more forceful and aggressive qualities both in body and mind[20], and men are more
inclined to war[21].
And before I continue, I wish to mention that these statements about men and women should
be interpreted as mere generalisations. They don't purport to speak about all men and
women.
Yet during my search through the Bahá'í writings, I came across many general
references to women, all of which were extremely positive. It would seem that women are
more more tender-hearted[22], receptive[23], intuitive[24], merciful[25], sympathetic[26], mentally alert[27], loving[28], philanthropic[29], and more responsive towards the needy and suffering than men are[30] . Moreover, women are
inflexibly opposed to war and are the lovers of peace[31]. There is one quotation by
'Abdu'l-Bahá which I would like to set forth in full. I shall refer to this
quotation as the 'Lioness quote':
...The woman is indeed of the greater importance to the race. She has the greater
burden and the greater work. Look at the vegetable and the animal worlds. The palm which
carries the fruit is the tree most prized by the date grower. The Arab knows that for a
long journey the mare has the longest wind. For her greater strength and fierceness, the
lioness is more feared by the hunter than the lion. 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....[32]
The Lioness quote and others like it made me wonder just how meaningful the
Bahá'í teaching of the equality of men and women really is. I can only describe
these strengths of women as being spiritual or moral in character. Believing as I do that
spiritual things are the most important things, I simply cannot respect an equality that
does not include moral or spiritual equality. If women are so good, and men are so bad, it
certainly looked like a meaningless type of equality to me.
I looked further through the Bahá'í writings, and saw much authority for the
spiritual and moral equality of men and women. Our understanding of a part of the
Bahá'í writings is limited by our understanding of the whole of the writings. The
microcosm can only be known through the macrocosm, and probably vice versa. So these
quotes from 'Abdu'l-Bahá must be read subject to the rest of the Bahá'í
writings. The particular writings that I have in mind here are those on the Oneness of
Humanity. Shoghi Effendi has declared this teaching to be Bahá'u'lláh's
'supreme declaration'[33], 'the chief and distinguishing feature of the Faith He
proclaimed,'[34] and 'the pivot round which all the teachings of
Bahá'u'lláh revolve.'[35] 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself calls the Oneness of Humanity the
'one central theme'[36] of Bahá'u'lláh's dispensation, as well as 'the
foundation of the Faith of God and the distinguishing feature of His law.'[37
What are the ramifications of this fundamental principle?
I consider this part of The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh to provide
valuable guidance in the application of this teaching:
O CHILDREN OF MEN!
Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself
over the other.[38]
And 'Abdu'l-Bahá said this:
...[W]e must not make distinctions between individual members of the human family. We
must not consider any soul as barren or deprived.[39]
And more specifically on the topic of gender equality, He said this:
[F]or man and woman are equally the recipients of powers and endowments from God, the
Creator. God has not ordained distinction between them in His consummate purpose.[40]
[F]rom the spiritual viewpoint there is no difference
between [men and women].[41]
It would seem that despite all of women's strengths and men's weaknesses,
spiritual equality exists and that is that.
I tried to understand this seemingly contradictory state of affairs in a different way.
One explanation for the Lioness quote can be found in the following statement by
'Abdu'l-Bahá:
[W]e must declare that her capacity is equal, even greater than man's. This will
inspire her with hope and ambition, and her susceptibilities for advancement will
continually increase. She must not be told and taught that she is weaker and inferior in
capacity and qualification. If a pupil is told that his intelligence is less than his
fellow pupils, it is a very great drawback and handicap to his progress. He must be
encouraged to advance by the statement, 'You are most capable, and if you endeavour,
you will attain the highest degree.'[42]
One can view the Lioness quote as an example of such encouragement from
'Abdu'l-Bahá to women. This explanation is especially valid if one considers
the status of women in the pre-first world war period of the twentieth century. Although
the suffragette movement had succeeded in some Western countries, the struggle was still
on in others. It was very much in the early days of the feminist movement, and was not all
that removed from the Victorian era where the opinion of women's value and usefulness
as productive human beings was at a very low level.[43] The women to whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá was
speaking would have particularly needed this encouragement, to show that they really could
make a difference in the world. This could even be seen as an early example of affirmative
action.
Looking at the context of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's statements, it is possible to
see why 'Abdu'l-Bahá did not say much about the good qualities of men. This
approach gives two different but not inconsistent explanations. One explanation is that it
may have been because in the early twentieth century, most men and women thought that
these things were so self-evident that they didn't need mentioning. This is
unfortunate because a lot of the things that have traditionally been viewed as men's
strengths may actually be weaknesses now or have become obsolete.
The Lioness quote and others like it by 'Abdu'l-Bahá mention certain
strengths of women. In the Bahá'í view of gender, where 'equality of status
does not mean identity of function'[44], it is entirely possible for women in general to be better at certain
things than men in general. In fact, the Universal House of Justice has stated that this
is in fact so.[45]
The exact areas of these differences are unclear, although it would appear that areas
where men and women in general have similar abilities are far, far greater.
One ramification of all this is, if men and women really are equal, and that if women
have certain strengths in some areas, it must follow that men have a proportionate amount
of strengths in other areas. And I am talking about true spiritual and moral strengths -
not being aggressive or better able to kill. I do not want to speculate on what exactly
these things might be. It may be that we don't even have names or concepts for some
of these things yet. It may be that men have an undeveloped potential in areas in which it
has been assumed that women are superior. When 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke about the
relative strengths of men and women, He was speaking in the early twentieth century. These
things may change as other things change.
In fact it would seem that we can expect some kind of change. Bahá'u'lláh
has written that a 'race of men, incomparable in character, shall be raised up.'[46] Although I think that the
primary meaning of this term concerns people in general, it may be that the term has a
secondary meaning which is especially about men. There are numerous examples in Kitáb-i-Iqán
of words in sacred texts having multiple meanings[47], and Bahá'u'lláh has written
elsewhere:
Know assuredly that just as thou firmly believest the Word of God, exalted be His
glory, endureth for ever, thou must, likewise, believe with undoubting faith that its
meaning can never be exhausted.[48]
One way of finding out what this change might be like is to the look at Bahá'í
laws, which Shoghi Effendi has described as 'the Charter of the future world
civilization.'[49] On chastity, Bahá'u'lláh has written, 'And if he met the
fairest and most comely of women, he would not feel his heart seduced by the least shadow
of desire for her beauty.'[50] This is the standard that we have to aspire to. It is difficult to see
how this standard could ever be approached unless it is accompanied by a fundamental
change in consciousness. This is but one small example of what the 'new race of
men' might be like, a new race that will gradually grow out of the old race.
I shall conclude by discussing another quotation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's,
one that has been the main inspiration for my views in this area:
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.[51]
There should be a balance between men and women. Neither sex should be viewed as more
or less important, and neither sex should be able to wield power over the other. In the
past there has been no such balance. Patriarchy has existed, and men have been able to
suppress the development of women and devalue the feminine. But the suppression of the
feminine is only one half of the effects of this imbalance. The flip-side is that the
masculine has been corrupted because men have had power which they should not have had.
This imbalance between men and women still exists, although it is often less visible.
Therefore we need to work together to restore the balance, women pulling from their end,
men pushing from their end. It's not going to be easy, but it has to be done. Only to
the extent that the balance is restored will men be able to ease their own inner pain and
discover a masculinity that is moral, spiritual, life-giving, life-affirming, pure, and in
accordance with Bahá'u'lláh's wondrous vision.
Notes
1. Vicky Randall, Women and Politics,
(London: Macmillan, 1982) pp. 1-7.
2. Sandra Berns, "Through the Looking Glass:
Gender, Class and Shared Interests" (1993) 11 Law in Context 95 at 97-8.
3. Bahá'í compilation, Teaching the Bahá'í Faith, (Mona Vale: Bahá'í Publications Australia, 1995) paragraphs 18, 32, 45; pp.
28-9, 36, 43.
4. Teaching the Bahá'í Faith para. 346, p.
177.
5. Sandra Berns, p. 99-100.
6. Andrea Dworkin, Intercourse, (London:
Arrow Books, 1987) pp. 150-3; Berns p. 99.
7. Ruth Colker, Feminism, Theology and
Abortion, (77) 5 California Law Review (1989); Isabel Karpin, Reimagining
Maternal Selfhood: Transgressing Body Boundaries and the Law [1994] 2 Australian
Feminist Law Journal 36.
8. Graycar and Morgan, pp. 41-2; Catherine
MacKinnon, Reflections on Sex Equality under Law, 100 Yale Law Journal 1281
(1991) at 1296.
9. Bah'yyih Nakhjavani, Asking Questions: A
Challenge to Fundamentalism, (Oxford: George Ronald, 1990) p. 166.
10. Nakhjavani, p. 168.
11. Here are but four examples: Hoda Mahmoudi,
"he Role of Men in Establishing the Equality of Women", and Michael Penn "Violence
Against Women and Girls", World Order (Spring 1995); Shiva Tavana, "Sexual Equality
in the Bahá'í Community" 3 dialogue 28-31 [1986]; Safoura Chittleborough,
Requisites for Family Unity", Proceedings of the National Bahá'í Studies Conference
Hobart July 1994, (Sydney: Association for Bahá'í Studies - Australia, 1995) p. 11.
12. This term was coined by Arlie Hochschild in The
Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home, (New York City: Viking,
1989).
13. Marion Tapper, Can a Feminist be a Liberal?
(1986) 64 Australasian Journal of Philosophy 37 at 40-1; MacKinnon, pp. 1281-1296.
14. One aspect of this will be explored in the
second part of this paper.
15. Ruth Colker, Abortion & Dialogue 63 Tulane
Law Review 1363 (1989).
16. Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá'u'lláh, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976) p. 305.
17. Two examples of this are: Tavana, 28-31;
Penny Caton (ed.), Equal Circles, (Kalimat Press, 1987).
18. Before proceeding, I would like to
acknowledge some of the contributions that other authors have made in this field (with
apologies to those whom I may have omitted): Sidney Morrison, "Becoming a Man" in Equal
Circles ; Hossain Danesh, "Bahá'í Scholarship", in Bahá'í Scholarship: Proceedings
of the First Annual Conference of the Association of Bahá'í Studies - Japan, pp. 52,
56-7; Mahmoudi; Chittleborough.
19. Steve Biddulph, Manhood, (Sydney:
Finch Publishing, 1994) p. 6. Biddulph's emphasis.
20. Bahá'í compilation, Women, (Haifa:
Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, 1986) paragraph 25.
21. Women, paragraph 85.
22. Women, paragraph 21.
23. Women, paragraph 21.
24. Women, paragraph 21.
25. Women, paragraph 23.
26. Women, paragraph 23.
27. Women, paragraph 25.
28. Women, paragraph 25.
29. Women, paragraph 85.
30. Women, paragraph 85.
31. Women, paragraph 85.
32. Women, paragraph 88.
33. Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1974) p. 36.
34. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
36.
35. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
42.
36. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
36.
37. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
36.
38. Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of
Bahá'u'lláh, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1985) p. 20.
39. Women, paragraph 104.
40. Women, paragraph 108.
41. Women, paragraph 12.
42. Women, paragraph 85.
43. Sandra Berns, "Women in English Legal
History: Subject (Almost), Object (Irrevocably), Person (Not Quite)", (1993) 12 University
of Tasmania Law Review 26.
44. Women, paragraph 64.
45. Women, paragraph 30.
46. Bahá'u'lláh quoted in Shoghi Effendi, The
Advent of Divine Justice, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1969) p. 26.
47. Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Iqan, (Wilmette:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1950) pp. 33-43.
48. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p.175.
49. Shoghi Effendi quoted in Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, (Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1992) p. 13.
50. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p.118.
51. Women, paragraph 20.
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──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Feminism, Men and the Bahá'í Faith
Morgan Wilson
published in 75 Years of the Bahá'í Faith in Australasia
Rosebery: Association for Bahá'í Studies Australia, 1996
Introduction
The topic of this paper is, broadly speaking, gender issues in the Bahá'í Faith.
This paper approaches the subject in two ways; firstly by looking at feminism and the
Bahá'í Faith, and secondly by looking at men and the Bahá'í Faith. The two
parts of the paper are quite distinct, but they are inter-related and hopefully they
balance each other.
1. Feminism and the Bahá'í Faith
There are two preliminary issues that I would like to address.
The first concerns what I mean when I write 'feminism'. Strictly speaking,
this is an inaccurate usage. There is not a single definitive 'Feminism', only a
large variety of feminisms.[1] There is insufficient space to list the different types of feminism, but some of the main groupings are: liberal feminism, radical feminism, marxist feminism,
post-modern feminism, feminisms concerned with women of racial minorities, and
eco-feminism. When I mention feminism, my intention is to include all of the different
types of feminism. I think that there is enough in common between the feminisms - i.e.
identifying and removing the subordination of women wherever it occurs - to be able to
write about feminism without adjectives.[2] However, it will still be true that whenever I mention anything about feminism, these statements will be inaccurate for at least some type or types of feminism.
The second preliminary issue concerns my own position as a man writing in and about
feminism. There are two things which need to be raised. Firstly, men should be encouraged
to think and write about feminism, as I have been by my feminist friends. Although
primarily concerned with women, feminism should not be restricted to women. Anybody
concerned with the way people are treated should be concerned with feminism, given that
half the world's population if female. Also, if men study feminism, they can learn to
understand and support it, make changes in their own lives, as well as influence other
men. The process of ending the subordination of women would surely be hastened if men
increasingly came to support the process, rather than being hostile or indifferent to the
process. On the other hand (and this is the second thing I wish to mention here, and is of
equal importance), men involved in feminism need an additional measure of humility. It is
one thing to be trying to empathise with another viewpoint, it is something very different
to inherently possess that viewpoint - and men must be aware of and respect this
difference. And there must be no valid reason for any one to suspect that feminism is
being 'hijacked' by men.
The main aim of this section on feminism and the Bahá'í Faith is to prepare
Bahá'í scholars as well as the larger Bahá'í community for the inevitable
encounter that I think must occur between the Bahá'í Faith and feminism. Before
proceeding, I will take some time to elaborate on why I think that such an encounter will
occur.
As I have said before and as I will say again in detail, there are some things about
the Bahá'í Faith that feminists will definitely object to. Yet at the moment, most
feminists do not know enough about the Bahá'í Faith to be aware of the areas that
they might not agree with. Even if some feminists did know of these areas, it is very
unlikely that they would be overly concerned about what the Bahá'í teachings were
anyway, since the Bahá'í Faith is such a small religion.
Yet because of Shoghi Effendi's and the Universal House of Justice's vision
of 'entry by troops' and 'mass conversion,'[3] I believe as a
Bahá'í that the Bahá'í Faith is going to grow significantly in the near
future. We know that this growth in numbers will be followed by and associated with
various forms of opposition to the Bahá'í Faith.[4] I think it and natural and inevitable that as the
Bahá'í Faith grows, feminists (as well as scholars of all backgrounds) will begin
taking it seriously and studying it, and when they do this, they will see things in the
Bahá'í Faith that they will not like, and at least some will try to oppose the
Faith.
This encounter between the Bahá'í movement and the feminist movement is best
viewed as a challenge that offers both negative and positive possibilities for the
Bahá'í Faith. It is our duty, as Bahá'ís and aspiring Bahá'í
scholars, to do what we can to minimise the negative and maximise the positive that can
come from this encounter. It is with this in mind that I have devised the following plan
of action.
This plan of action has four inter-related parts:
Studying feminism.
Defending the Bahá'í Faith against actual and potential feminist criticism.
Showing the good that the Bahá'í Faith can do for women.
Striving to apply the Bahá'í teachings on gender equality in the Bahá'í community.
The first part of the plan of action is to study feminism. Ideally this will take the
form of an on-going commitment or interest. When we study feminism, we will see that
feminism is not really "the enemy". In a lot of areas the Bahá'í Faith
and feminism are completely compatible and are true allies. This must always be
remembered, even when we speak of 'opposition' and 'encounters'.
Sometimes friends do misunderstand each other.
By studying feminism we will find that the Bahá'í Faith can and must learn
things from feminism. It will also become evident that feminism would be more effective if
it embraced some Bahá'í insights.
Also, it is only by being informed about feminism that it be possible for us to do the
other three things in the plan of action. If we are ignorant about what feminism is really
about, we will not be able to understand feminist criticism of the Bahá'í Faith,
let alone make an adequate defence. We will not realise what the Bahá'í teachings
can offer to feminism, and we will not be able to effectively identify and remedy whatever
sexual inequality may exist within the Bahá'í community.
The second part of the plan of action is to defend the Bahá'í Faith from
feminist critiques.
There are numerous parts of the Bahá'í Faith that most feminists will find
problematic, to put things mildly. Here is a non-exhaustive list, ranging from the
relatively well-known to the relatively obscure.
That only men can be elected to the Universal House of Justice.
The bias towards men in the Bahá'í intestasy laws.
That the Bahá'í construction of and emphasis on motherhood reinforces
traditional gender stereotypes.[5]
The condemnation of homosexual relationships. (Some feminists view compulsory
heterosexuality as being one of the main pillars of patriarchy[6]). We need to explain the Bahá'í teachings on homosexuality, and show how liberating the Bahá'í
teachings on gender can be.
We need to explain why marriage is emphasised so much in the Bahá'í Faith and
show how our view on marriage and morality is different from other outworn views.
We need to look at Bahá'í views about contraception and abortion, issues that
are quite central for most contemporary feminists.[7]
The whole concept that men and women have equal stations but different functions.
Feminists are often very wary of 'equal but different' arguments.[8] Some conservative Christian
and Muslim groups, in which women have a clearly subordinate position, have similar
concepts of equality. We need to show that our concept is distinct - at least in the
application, if not in the theory.
The exemptions that women can have for obligatory prayer, fasting and pilgrimage.[9]
We have to resist the temptation to sweep these issues under the carpet. That is no
answer, the only answer is to face these issues head on and deal with them, difficult as
it is. It is ultimately futile to try to hide these things, try as we might, they will
eventually get out into the open anyway, and when they do they will cause great damage.
This will be especially so if we have spent all of our time telling people how good the
Bahá'í Faith is for women. People could justifiably think that Bahá'ís have
been less than honest, offering things to women with one hand while taking things away
with the other hand.
The immediate task is one of damage control. It is vital that we explain what these
things do and don't mean, and give a sympathetic interpretation of these things - an
interpretation that is as least problematic to feminists as possible.
Of course, this cannot be taken too far. We cannot misrepresent or misinterpret the
Bahá'í teachings so as to avoid offending anyone. At the end of the day, we have to
stand by our sympathetic interpretation and defend it as best we can.
One possible defence strategy is to argue that these problematic areas are to be
interpreted with reference to the general teaching of the equality of men and women, and
not vice versa.[10]
From here, it might be possible to find a favourable reason for the particular thing.
Sometimes - as is the case with the membership of the Universal House of Justice - no
favourable reason can be found. In these circumstances, all that can be done is to attempt
to put the matter in context, and show that all the ways in which the Bahá'í Faith
can benefit women (part three of the plan of action) will more than adequately compensate
for this area of inequality.
There are no easy victories here. It is likely that each answer, far from satisfying
critics, will raise in turn a many other questions. Success is not about trying to find
the one 'Answer' that will silence critics, but being able and willing to
participate in an on-going dialogue.
Part three is showing how the Bahá'í Faith can benefit women. This is perhaps
the most exciting area to work in, because it involves looking at the positive and at the
links between feminism and the Bahá'í Faith. There is already a substantial body of
Bahá'í scholarship in this area.[11] Listed below are some topics in this category which might also be
studied:
The potential of the Bahá'í Faith in solving the problem of the 'second
shift'[12].
This problem arises in families where both spouses are employed, yet it is still the woman
who ends up doing most of the housework.
Radical feminists often argue that it is far from adequate to treat women as the
legal equals of men.[13] Doing this is not only ineffective in bringing about real sexual
equality, it justifies existing sexual inequality by claiming these things to be
manifestations of real gender differences. For example, that there are still comparatively
very few female politicians or business women with real power, despite the absence of
legal impediments, is often explained by saying that women just aren't interested in
or are good at these things. In reality, it is not equality to be allowed to play a game,
if the rules (which you didn't make and can't change) work against you. It often
seems as if women can only be equals to the extent that they are like men. To the extent
that women work in different jobs than men, have family responsibilities that men
don't have, act differently from the way that men are meant to act in our
capitalistic system (first and foremost as rational, self-interested and independent
wealth maximisers), become pregnant or have the possibility of becoming pregnant, to this
extent women can't have equality. At the moment, if a woman wants political or
economic success, she will have to act like a man. There is ample scope here for
Bahá'ís to show how Bahá'í concepts can add to such arguments.
How the Bahá'í Faith is more likely to be successful in influencing men than
feminists ever could. As I said earlier, there is a large degree of overlap between
feminism and the Bahá'í Faith. This means that for Bahá'í men, many feminist
truths are (or ought to be) of the highest moral authority.[14]
Also, the Bahá'í Faith is more likely to be successful in influencing
conservative groups in society than feminists could. There is also a high level of
polarisation between feminists and conservative groups at the moment - there is virtually
no dialogue between the two[15], except for an exchange of insults. The Bahá'í community embraces
many diverse elements, including those who are conservative and those who are progressive
on gender issues. Within the Bahá'í community, these issues can be dealt with.
Admittedly this will not be easy, but at least people will be able to disagree and still
respect and listen to each other, and in time a resolution might be found.
This flows on to the fourth and final part of the plan of action: applying the
Bahá'í teachings on sexual equality to the Bahá'í community. This is perhaps
the most difficult thing of all to do, because it will test the unity of the Bahá'í
community at a time when the utmost unity and focus are required. However, for my part, I
find it difficult to see how local and national Bahá'í administrative institutions
could be regarded as mature if they do not address this. Another reason why this must be
done is Bahá'u'lláh's warning that we as Bahá'ís mustn't let
our deeds differ from our words.[16] If we are saying to the world that the Bahá'í Faith upholds the
equality of men and women, and saying how beneficial the Bahá'í Faith can be for
women, then we have no choice but to ensure that we are doing our utmost to put these
Bahá'í teachings into practice. Otherwise, our words will mean nothing and will
command no respect, and we will be defenceless against accusations of hypocrisy and worse.
This is potentially a large area, and I can only mention a few of the questions that we
should be asking.[17] Who is doing what in the Bahá'í communities? If a Bahá'í
public meeting is being held, who are the speakers, and who is washing up the cups and
looking after the kids? Who are the chairpeople of our assemblies, and who are the
secretaries? Who does most of the talking at nineteen day feasts and assembly meetings and
Bahá'í studies conferences? Who teaches and runs our children's classes? We
need to be asking these questions on a local, regional, national, continental and
international level. And if the answers show that these things are not being fairly shared
between men and women (as I suspect will be so, but I can do no more than suspect this),
we need to work out why, and remedy the problem.
2. Men and the Bahá'í Faith
Why am I writing about this topic?[18] Immediately after looking at feminism and the
Bahá'í Faith, I feel persuaded to think that men must be the most fortunate
creatures in the universe. But I am afraid that I cannot be swayed. From my own bitter
experience I know that men are really suffering at the moment.
Near the beginning a book intended to be an introduction to the men's movement, Manhood,
the author Steve Biddulph wrote the following:
Here are some of the facts about being a man in the late 20th Century:
Men on average live for six years less than women do.
Men routinely fail at close relationships. (Just two indicators: forty percent of
marriages break down, and divorces are initiated by the woman in four out of five cases.)
Over ninety percent of convicted acts of violence will be carried out by men,
seventy percent of the victims will be men.
In school, around ninety percent of children with behaviour problems are boys and
over eighty percent of children with learning problems are also boys.
The leading cause of death amongst men between 12 and 60 is self-inflicted death.
Surely, the most powerful reflection on the male gender is its suicide rate. Men and
boys commit suicide five times more frequently than women. (The rate for men exceeds the
road toll, though the two are probably blurred together. A 'single vehicle
accident' is often impossible to differentiate.)[19]
That women are also suffering does not make men's suffering less real, and vice
versa.
It would seem that men are in a very degraded position at the moment. Arguably
men's degradation is more severe, because it appears to be primarily self-inflicted.
Women's degradation is almost entirely caused by external factors - which makes it
more unjust and unacceptable, but not as degrading.
Thinking about all this made me curious about what the Bahá'í writings say about
men and masculinity. I had a look and could not find one good thing in the Bahá'í
writings about men! All I could find were rather negative statements about masculinity.
Men have more forceful and aggressive qualities both in body and mind[20], and men are more
inclined to war[21].
And before I continue, I wish to mention that these statements about men and women should
be interpreted as mere generalisations. They don't purport to speak about all men and
women.
Yet during my search through the Bahá'í writings, I came across many general
references to women, all of which were extremely positive. It would seem that women are
more more tender-hearted[22], receptive[23], intuitive[24], merciful[25], sympathetic[26], mentally alert[27], loving[28], philanthropic[29], and more responsive towards the needy and suffering than men are[30] . Moreover, women are
inflexibly opposed to war and are the lovers of peace[31]. There is one quotation by
'Abdu'l-Bahá which I would like to set forth in full. I shall refer to this
quotation as the 'Lioness quote':
...The woman is indeed of the greater importance to the race. She has the greater
burden and the greater work. Look at the vegetable and the animal worlds. The palm which
carries the fruit is the tree most prized by the date grower. The Arab knows that for a
long journey the mare has the longest wind. For her greater strength and fierceness, the
lioness is more feared by the hunter than the lion. 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....[32]
The Lioness quote and others like it made me wonder just how meaningful the
Bahá'í teaching of the equality of men and women really is. I can only describe
these strengths of women as being spiritual or moral in character. Believing as I do that
spiritual things are the most important things, I simply cannot respect an equality that
does not include moral or spiritual equality. If women are so good, and men are so bad, it
certainly looked like a meaningless type of equality to me.
I looked further through the Bahá'í writings, and saw much authority for the
spiritual and moral equality of men and women. Our understanding of a part of the
Bahá'í writings is limited by our understanding of the whole of the writings. The
microcosm can only be known through the macrocosm, and probably vice versa. So these
quotes from 'Abdu'l-Bahá must be read subject to the rest of the Bahá'í
writings. The particular writings that I have in mind here are those on the Oneness of
Humanity. Shoghi Effendi has declared this teaching to be Bahá'u'lláh's
'supreme declaration'[33], 'the chief and distinguishing feature of the Faith He
proclaimed,'[34] and 'the pivot round which all the teachings of
Bahá'u'lláh revolve.'[35] 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself calls the Oneness of Humanity the
'one central theme'[36] of Bahá'u'lláh's dispensation, as well as 'the
foundation of the Faith of God and the distinguishing feature of His law.'[37
What are the ramifications of this fundamental principle?
I consider this part of The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh to provide
valuable guidance in the application of this teaching:
O CHILDREN OF MEN!
Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself
over the other.[38]
And 'Abdu'l-Bahá said this:
...[W]e must not make distinctions between individual members of the human family. We
must not consider any soul as barren or deprived.[39]
And more specifically on the topic of gender equality, He said this:
[F]or man and woman are equally the recipients of powers and endowments from God, the
Creator. God has not ordained distinction between them in His consummate purpose.[40]
[F]rom the spiritual viewpoint there is no difference
between [men and women].[41]
It would seem that despite all of women's strengths and men's weaknesses,
spiritual equality exists and that is that.
I tried to understand this seemingly contradictory state of affairs in a different way.
One explanation for the Lioness quote can be found in the following statement by
'Abdu'l-Bahá:
[W]e must declare that her capacity is equal, even greater than man's. This will
inspire her with hope and ambition, and her susceptibilities for advancement will
continually increase. She must not be told and taught that she is weaker and inferior in
capacity and qualification. If a pupil is told that his intelligence is less than his
fellow pupils, it is a very great drawback and handicap to his progress. He must be
encouraged to advance by the statement, 'You are most capable, and if you endeavour,
you will attain the highest degree.'[42]
One can view the Lioness quote as an example of such encouragement from
'Abdu'l-Bahá to women. This explanation is especially valid if one considers
the status of women in the pre-first world war period of the twentieth century. Although
the suffragette movement had succeeded in some Western countries, the struggle was still
on in others. It was very much in the early days of the feminist movement, and was not all
that removed from the Victorian era where the opinion of women's value and usefulness
as productive human beings was at a very low level.[43] The women to whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá was
speaking would have particularly needed this encouragement, to show that they really could
make a difference in the world. This could even be seen as an early example of affirmative
action.
Looking at the context of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's statements, it is possible to
see why 'Abdu'l-Bahá did not say much about the good qualities of men. This
approach gives two different but not inconsistent explanations. One explanation is that it
may have been because in the early twentieth century, most men and women thought that
these things were so self-evident that they didn't need mentioning. This is
unfortunate because a lot of the things that have traditionally been viewed as men's
strengths may actually be weaknesses now or have become obsolete.
The Lioness quote and others like it by 'Abdu'l-Bahá mention certain
strengths of women. In the Bahá'í view of gender, where 'equality of status
does not mean identity of function'[44], it is entirely possible for women in general to be better at certain
things than men in general. In fact, the Universal House of Justice has stated that this
is in fact so.[45]
The exact areas of these differences are unclear, although it would appear that areas
where men and women in general have similar abilities are far, far greater.
One ramification of all this is, if men and women really are equal, and that if women
have certain strengths in some areas, it must follow that men have a proportionate amount
of strengths in other areas. And I am talking about true spiritual and moral strengths -
not being aggressive or better able to kill. I do not want to speculate on what exactly
these things might be. It may be that we don't even have names or concepts for some
of these things yet. It may be that men have an undeveloped potential in areas in which it
has been assumed that women are superior. When 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke about the
relative strengths of men and women, He was speaking in the early twentieth century. These
things may change as other things change.
In fact it would seem that we can expect some kind of change. Bahá'u'lláh
has written that a 'race of men, incomparable in character, shall be raised up.'[46] Although I think that the
primary meaning of this term concerns people in general, it may be that the term has a
secondary meaning which is especially about men. There are numerous examples in Kitáb-i-Iqán
of words in sacred texts having multiple meanings[47], and Bahá'u'lláh has written
elsewhere:
Know assuredly that just as thou firmly believest the Word of God, exalted be His
glory, endureth for ever, thou must, likewise, believe with undoubting faith that its
meaning can never be exhausted.[48]
One way of finding out what this change might be like is to the look at Bahá'í
laws, which Shoghi Effendi has described as 'the Charter of the future world
civilization.'[49] On chastity, Bahá'u'lláh has written, 'And if he met the
fairest and most comely of women, he would not feel his heart seduced by the least shadow
of desire for her beauty.'[50] This is the standard that we have to aspire to. It is difficult to see
how this standard could ever be approached unless it is accompanied by a fundamental
change in consciousness. This is but one small example of what the 'new race of
men' might be like, a new race that will gradually grow out of the old race.
I shall conclude by discussing another quotation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's,
one that has been the main inspiration for my views in this area:
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.[51]
There should be a balance between men and women. Neither sex should be viewed as more
or less important, and neither sex should be able to wield power over the other. In the
past there has been no such balance. Patriarchy has existed, and men have been able to
suppress the development of women and devalue the feminine. But the suppression of the
feminine is only one half of the effects of this imbalance. The flip-side is that the
masculine has been corrupted because men have had power which they should not have had.
This imbalance between men and women still exists, although it is often less visible.
Therefore we need to work together to restore the balance, women pulling from their end,
men pushing from their end. It's not going to be easy, but it has to be done. Only to
the extent that the balance is restored will men be able to ease their own inner pain and
discover a masculinity that is moral, spiritual, life-giving, life-affirming, pure, and in
accordance with Bahá'u'lláh's wondrous vision.
Notes
1. Vicky Randall, Women and Politics,
(London: Macmillan, 1982) pp. 1-7.
2. Sandra Berns, "Through the Looking Glass:
Gender, Class and Shared Interests" (1993) 11 Law in Context 95 at 97-8.
3. Bahá'í compilation, Teaching the Bahá'í Faith, (Mona Vale: Bahá'í Publications Australia, 1995) paragraphs 18, 32, 45; pp.
28-9, 36, 43.
4. Teaching the Bahá'í Faith para. 346, p.
177.
5. Sandra Berns, p. 99-100.
6. Andrea Dworkin, Intercourse, (London:
Arrow Books, 1987) pp. 150-3; Berns p. 99.
7. Ruth Colker, Feminism, Theology and
Abortion, (77) 5 California Law Review (1989); Isabel Karpin, Reimagining
Maternal Selfhood: Transgressing Body Boundaries and the Law [1994] 2 Australian
Feminist Law Journal 36.
8. Graycar and Morgan, pp. 41-2; Catherine
MacKinnon, Reflections on Sex Equality under Law, 100 Yale Law Journal 1281
(1991) at 1296.
9. Bah'yyih Nakhjavani, Asking Questions: A
Challenge to Fundamentalism, (Oxford: George Ronald, 1990) p. 166.
10. Nakhjavani, p. 168.
11. Here are but four examples: Hoda Mahmoudi,
"he Role of Men in Establishing the Equality of Women", and Michael Penn "Violence
Against Women and Girls", World Order (Spring 1995); Shiva Tavana, "Sexual Equality
in the Bahá'í Community" 3 dialogue 28-31 [1986]; Safoura Chittleborough,
Requisites for Family Unity", Proceedings of the National Bahá'í Studies Conference
Hobart July 1994, (Sydney: Association for Bahá'í Studies - Australia, 1995) p. 11.
12. This term was coined by Arlie Hochschild in The
Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home, (New York City: Viking,
1989).
13. Marion Tapper, Can a Feminist be a Liberal?
(1986) 64 Australasian Journal of Philosophy 37 at 40-1; MacKinnon, pp. 1281-1296.
14. One aspect of this will be explored in the
second part of this paper.
15. Ruth Colker, Abortion & Dialogue 63 Tulane
Law Review 1363 (1989).
16. Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá'u'lláh, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976) p. 305.
17. Two examples of this are: Tavana, 28-31;
Penny Caton (ed.), Equal Circles, (Kalimat Press, 1987).
18. Before proceeding, I would like to
acknowledge some of the contributions that other authors have made in this field (with
apologies to those whom I may have omitted): Sidney Morrison, "Becoming a Man" in Equal
Circles ; Hossain Danesh, "Bahá'í Scholarship", in Bahá'í Scholarship: Proceedings
of the First Annual Conference of the Association of Bahá'í Studies - Japan, pp. 52,
56-7; Mahmoudi; Chittleborough.
19. Steve Biddulph, Manhood, (Sydney:
Finch Publishing, 1994) p. 6. Biddulph's emphasis.
20. Bahá'í compilation, Women, (Haifa:
Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, 1986) paragraph 25.
21. Women, paragraph 85.
22. Women, paragraph 21.
23. Women, paragraph 21.
24. Women, paragraph 21.
25. Women, paragraph 23.
26. Women, paragraph 23.
27. Women, paragraph 25.
28. Women, paragraph 25.
29. Women, paragraph 85.
30. Women, paragraph 85.
31. Women, paragraph 85.
32. Women, paragraph 88.
33. Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1974) p. 36.
34. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
36.
35. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
42.
36. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
36.
37. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p.
36.
38. Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of
Bahá'u'lláh, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1985) p. 20.
39. Women, paragraph 104.
40. Women, paragraph 108.
41. Women, paragraph 12.
42. Women, paragraph 85.
43. Sandra Berns, "Women in English Legal
History: Subject (Almost), Object (Irrevocably), Person (Not Quite)", (1993) 12 University
of Tasmania Law Review 26.
44. Women, paragraph 64.
45. Women, paragraph 30.
46. Bahá'u'lláh quoted in Shoghi Effendi, The
Advent of Divine Justice, (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1969) p. 26.
47. Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Iqan, (Wilmette:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1950) pp. 33-43.
48. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p.175.
49. Shoghi Effendi quoted in Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, (Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1992) p. 13.
50. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p.118.
51. Women, paragraph 20.
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