The equality of women and men is a
fundamental tenet of Bahá'í belief.
The relationship of equality to world peace
is central to Bahá'í thinking on this issue and is one of the main themes of
several Bahá'í statements presented at United Nations conferences and meetings.
For full equality to be realized, priority must be given to the education of
women, starting with a greater investment in the education of girls. Essential,
too, is the partnership of men and boys in working towards the day when women
and girls have full equality in all aspects of life.
The Universal House of Justice has written:
The emancipation
of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes, is one of the
most important, though less acknowledged prerequisites of peace. The denial of
such equality perpetrates an injustice against one half of the world's
population and promotes in men harmful attitudes and habits that are carried
from the family to the workplace, to political life, and ultimately to
international relations. There are no grounds, moral, practical, or biological,
upon which such denial can be justified. Only as women are welcomed into full
partnership in all fields of human endeavour will the moral and psychological climate
be created in which international peace can emerge.
Since its inception nearly 150 years ago,
the Bahá'í Faith has promoted equality of the sexes. Indeed, the Bahá'í Faith
is the only independent world religion whose founder has stated unequivocally
that women and men are equal. "Women and men have been and will always be
equal in the sight of God," said Bahá'u'lláh.
Bahá'ís understand that the values which
women bring to human interaction are necessary to the proper functioning and
advancement of modern society and that qualities that have formerly been
associated with the feminine sides of our natures — such as compassion,
nurturance, cooperation and empathy — will be increasingly important in creating
a peaceful, just, and sustainable world civilization.
Bahá'í institutions around the world
promote various educational efforts for women and work to raise an awareness in
both women and men of their fundamental equality. Many of the Bahá'í
International Community's schools, learning centres, and grass-roots social and
economic development projects specifically integrate the promotion of the
advancement of women into their curricula or agendas.
Bahá'í women have long been active in the
struggle to promote women's equality. The Bahá'í Faith was founded in 1844 in
Iran, and among its early followers was Tahirih, a Persian poet and scholar. In
1852, she laid down her life in defence of her beliefs, which included the
right to lay aside her veil and work for the complete emancipation of women.
Laura Dreyfus-Barney, a member of the first
Bahá'í community in Europe, was among the leading figures in promoting the
advancement of women in the early years of the twentieth century. In the years
after World War I, she focused her attention on mobilizing women for peace. She
represented the International Council of Women (ICW) in the League of Nations
and was president of the ICW's Peace and Arbitration Commission.
After World War II, Ms. Dreyfus-Barney
played an important role in developing the relationship between the United
Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs).
Since the Bahá'í International Community
(BIC) obtained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) in 1970, it has cooperated officially with the United Nations
in its work to improve the status of women throughout the world.
The Bahá'í International Community has
worked directly with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and
its Secretariat, the UN Division for the Advancement of Women. In addition, the
BIC has established close, cooperative relationships with other international
non-governmental organizations at the United Nations that seek to promote the
advancement of women.
Initially, the BIC contributed to the work
of the United Nations by submitting statements to United Nations bodies, and in
particular the Commission on the Status of Women, on various aspects of
equality. Such statements have addressed the education of girls, the importance
of elevating the status of women as mothers, and the relevance of women's
participation at local, national, and international levels to the establishment
of world peace.
As part of International Women's Year in
1975, the BIC participated in the first World Conference on Women, held in
Mexico City. Two Bahá'í representatives were officially accredited to attend
the conference and nine representatives attended the NGO Tribune, a parallel
meeting for non-governmental organizations.
During the next 10 years, which were
designated the United Nations Decade for Women, the Bahá'í International
Community developed a solid reputation for its work in promoting the
advancement of women. BIC representatives served on NGO committees on the
status of women in New York, Geneva, and Vienna and participated in the World
Conferences on Women that were held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1980, in
Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985, and in Beijing, China, in 1995.
The BIC's representatives have also been
involved in planning parallel activities for NGOs at these meetings.
Relationships were established with major organizations worldwide that share
its focus on the promotion of the advancement of women.
The BIC collaborates increasingly with UN
agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).
Source
This article, adapted from "The Bahá'í World"
website, official site of the Bahá'í International Community, www.bahai.org,
is reproduced, with slight changes, from the Canadian Bahá'í website, www.ca.bahai.org.
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