# Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the
> sexes is essential to human progress and the transformation of society.
> Inequality retards not only the advancement of women but the progress of
> civilization itself. The persistent denial of equality to one-half of the
> world's population is an affront to human dignity. It promotes
> destructive attitudes and habits in men and women that pass from the
> family to the work place, to political life, and ultimately to
> international relations. On no grounds, moral, biological, or traditional
> can inequality be justified. The moral and psychological climate
> necessary to enable our nation to establish social justice and to
> contribute to global peace will be created only when women attain full
> partnership with men in all fields of endeavor. 
> 
> The systematic oppression of women is a conspicuous and tragic fact of
> history. Restricted to narrow spheres of activity in the life of society,
> denied educational opportunities and basic human rights, subjected to
> violence, and frequently treated as less than human, women have been
> prevented from realizing their true potential. Age-old patterns of
> subordination, reflected in popular culture, literature and art, law, and
> even religious scriptures, continue to pervade every aspect of life.
> Despite the advancement of political and civil rights for women in
> America and the widespread acceptance of equality in principle, full
> equality has not been achieved. 
> 
> The damaging effects of gender prejudice are a fault line beneath the
> foundation of our national life. The gains for women rest uneasily on
> unchanged, often unexamined, inherited assumptions. Much remains to be
> done. The achievement of full equality requires a new understanding of
> who we are, what is our purpose in life, and how we relate 
> to one another -- an understanding that will compel us to reshape our 
> lives and thereby our society. 
> 
> At no time since the founding of the women's rights movement in America
> has the need to focus on this issue been greater. We stand at the
> threshold of a new century and a new millennium. Their challenges are
> already upon us, influencing our families, our lifestyles, our nation,
> our world. In the process of human evolution, the ages of infancy and
> childhood are past. The turbulence of adolescence is slowly and painfully
> preparing us for the age of maturity, when prejudice and exploitation
> will be abolished and unity established. The elements necessary to unify
> peoples and nations are precisely those needed to bring about equality of
> the sexes and to improve the relationships between women and men. The
> effort to overcome the history of inequality requires the full
> participation of every man, woman, youth, and child. 
> 
> Over a century ago, for the first time in religious history, Bahá'u'lláh,
> the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, in announcing God's purpose for the age,
> proclaimed the principle of the equality of women and men, saying: "Women
> and men have been and will always be equal in the sight of 
> God."[1] The establishment of equal rights and privileges for women and men,
> Bahá'u'lláh says, is a precondition for the attainment of a wider unity
> that will ensure the well-being and security of all peoples. The Bahá'í 
> Writings state emphatically that "When all mankind shall receive the same 
> opportunity of education and the equality of men and women be realized, 
> the foundations of war will be utterly destroyed." [2] 
> 
> Thus the Bahá'í vision of equality between the sexes rests on the central
> spiritual principle of the oneness of humankind. The principle of oneness
> requires that we "regard humanity as a single individual, and one's own
> self as a member of that corporeal form" [3], and that we foster an
> unshakable consciousness that "if pain or injury afflicts any member of
> that body, it must inevitably result in suffering for all 
> the rest." [4] Bahá'u'lláh teaches that the divine purpose of creation is the
> achievement of unity among all peoples: 
> 
> "Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one
> should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts
> how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same
> substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the
> same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from
> your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and
> the essence of detachment may be made manifest." [5] 
> 
> 
> The full and equal participation of women in all spheres of life is
> essential to social and economic development, the abolition of war, and
> the ultimate establishment of a united world. In the Bahá'í Scriptures
> the equality of the sexes is a cornerstone of God's plan for human
> development and prosperity: 
> 
> 
> "The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the
> female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the
> bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until
> she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for
> humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot wing its way to heights of
> real attainment. When the two wings . . . become equivalent in strength,
> enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of man will be exceedingly
> lofty and extraordinary." [6] 
> 
> 
> The Bahá'í' Writings state that to proclaim equality is not to deny that
> differences in function between women and men exist but rather to affirm
> the complementary roles men and women fulfill in the home and society at
> large. Stating that the acquisition of knowledge serves as "a ladder for
> [human] ascent" [7], Bahá'u'lláh prescribes identical education for women
> and men but stipulates that when resources are limited first priority
> should be given to the education of women and girls. The education of
> girls is particularly important because, although both parents have
> responsibilities for the rearing of children, it is through educated
> mothers that the benefits of knowledge can be most effectively diffused
> throughout society. 
> 
> Reverence for, and protection of, motherhood have often been used as
> justification for keeping women socially and economically disadvantaged.
> It is this discriminatory and injurious result that must change. Great
> honor and nobility are rightly conferred on the station of motherhood and
> the importance of training children. Addressing the high station of
> motherhood, the Bahá'í Writings state, "O ye loving mothers, know ye that
> in God's sight, the best of all ways to worship Him is to educate the
> children and train them in all the perfections of 
> humankind. . . ." [8] The great challenge facing society is to make social and economic provisions for the full and equal participation of women in 
> all aspects of life while simultaneously reinforcing the critical 
> functions of motherhood. 
> 
> Asserting that women and men share similar "station and rank" and "are
> equally the recipients of powers and endowments from God" 
> [9], the Bahá'í teachings offer a model of equality based on the concept 
> of partnership.
> 
> Only when women become full participants in all domains of life and enter
> the important arenas of decision-making will humanity be prepared to
> embark on the next stage of its collective development. 
> 
> Bahá'í Scripture emphatically states that women will be the greatest
> factor in establishing universal peace and international arbitration. "So
> it will come to pass that when women participate fully and equally in the
> affairs of the world, when they enter confidently and capably the great
> arena of laws and politics, war will cease; for woman will be the
> obstacle and hindrance to it" [10].
> 
> The elimination of discrimination against women is a spiritual and moral imperative that must ultimately reshape existing legal, economic, and
> social arrangements. Promoting the entry of greater numbers of women into
> positions of prominence and authority is a necessary but not sufficient
> step in creating a just social order. Without fundamental changes in the
> attitudes and values of individuals and in the underlying ethos of social
> institutions, full equality between women and men cannot be achieved. A
> community based on partnership, a community in which aggression and the use of force are supplanted by cooperation and consultation, requires the
> transformation of the human heart. 
> 
> 
> "The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated
> over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities both
> of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting; force is losing
> its dominance, and mental alertness, intuition, and the spiritual
> qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine and more
> permeated with the feminine ideals . . . an age in which the masculine
> and feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly 
> balanced." [11]
> 
>  
> Men have an inescapable duty to promote the equality of women. The
> presumption of superiority by men thwarts the ambition of women and
> inhibits the creation of an environment in which equality may reign. The
> destructive effects of inequality prevent men from maturing and developing the qualities necessary to meet the challenges of the new
> millennium. "As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest
> possibilities," the Bahá'í' Writings state, "so long will men be unable to
> achieve the greatness which might be theirs." [12] It is essential that men
> engage in a careful, deliberate examination of attitudes, feelings, and
> behavior deeply rooted in cultural habit, that block the equal
> participation of women and stifle the growth of men. The willingness of
> men to take responsibility for equality will create an optimum environment for progress: "When men own the equality of women there will
> be no need for them to struggle for their rights!" [13] The long-standing
> and deeply rooted condition of inequality must be eliminated. To overcome
> such a condition requires the exercise of nothing short of "genuine love,
> extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative,
> mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful 
> effort." [14] 
> 
> Ultimately, Bahá'u'lláh promises, a day will come when men will welcome
> women in all aspects of life. Now is the time to move decisively toward
> that promised future. 
> 
> ------------------------------------------
> 
> Notes
> 
> 1. Bahá'u'lláh, from a Tablet translated from the Persian and Arabic,
> quoted in Women: Extracts from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 
> 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice, comp. Research
> Department of the Universal House of Justice (Thornhill, Ontario: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, 1986), no. 54. 
> 
> 2. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks delivered by
> 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912,
> comp. Howard MacNutt, 2d ed. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust,
> 1982), p. 175. 
> 
> 3. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization, trans. Marzieh Gail
> and Ali-Kuli Khan, 1st ps ed. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust,
> 1990), p. 39. 
> 
> 4. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 39. 
> 
> 5. Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, trans. Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette, Ill.:
> Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1939), p. 20. 
> 
> 6. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation, p. 375. 
> 
> 7. Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the
> Kitab-i-Aqdas, comp. Research Department of the Universal House of
> Justice, trans. Habib Taherzadeh et al., 1st ps ed. (Wilmette, Ill.:
> Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1988), p. 51. 
> 
> 8. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, comp.
> Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, trans. Committee
> at the Bahá'í World Centre and Marzieh Gail (Wilmette, 
> Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1997), 114.1. 
> 
> 9. Bahá'u'lláh,, Tablet translated from the Persian and Arabic, quoted in
> Women, no. 2; 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation, p. 300. 
> 
> 10. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation, p. 135. 
> 
> 11. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted in Wendell Phillips Dodge, "Abdul-Baha's Arrival
> in America," in Star of the West 3 (April 28, 1912), no. 3, p. 4. 
> 
> 12. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks: Addresses Given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris
> in 1911, 12th ed. (London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1995), 40.33 
> 
> 13. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, 50.14. 
> 
> 14. Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 40.
>
> — *Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men (Used by permission of the curator)*