One of the fundamental teachings of the Baháʼí Faith is that men and women are equal and that equality of the sexes is a spiritual and moral standard essential for the unification of the planet and a prerequisite for peace. Baháʼí teachings stress the importance of implementing this principle in individual, family, and community life. Nevertheless, the Baháʼí notion of the full spiritual and social equality of the two sexes does not imply sameness, so that gender distinction and differentiation are observed in certain areas of life. Significantly, while women can and do serve in an extensive range of elected and appointed positions within the Baháʼí administration at both national and international levels, they are not permitted to serve as members of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing institution of the Baháʼí Faith.
Equality The equality of men and women is a fundamental Baháʼí principle, that is explicit in the writings of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and particularly in the writings and discourses of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, his son and chosen interpreter. The teaching and its vision of the community is central to Baháʼí community life as is implemented at a practical level. The Baháʼí teachings state that women are not inferior to men, and should not be subordinate to men in aspects of social life. In fact, the education of daughters is held to be more important than, and therefore to take precedence over, that of sons. In the Baháʼí view, women have always been equal to men, and the reason why women have so far not achieved this equality is due to the lack of adequate educational and social opportunities, and because men have used their greater physical strength to prevent women from developing their true potential.
Spiritual station Baháʼu'lláh noted that there was no distinction in the spiritual stations of men and women, and that women and men were equal in the sight of God. Baháʼu'lláh wrote:
Instead of their gender, Baháʼu'lláh wrote that the spiritual station of each person depends on their recognition and devotion to God. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá stated that God did not differentiate between people based on gender and that all were made in the image of God. He further stated that both women and men have the same potential for intelligence, virtue and prowess.
Advancement of humanity and prerequisite to peace ʻAbdu'l-Bahá stated that gender equality was not simply righting historical social injustices against women, but would serve as a key factor in wide-ranging societal changes that would help develop a new civilization in which more 'feminine' qualities such as tender-heartedness and receptivity would balance previously dominant 'masculine' forces. The Baháʼí writings state that until women are provided equal status to men, humanity cannot advance or progress. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in a series of analogies has compared men and women to the two wings of a bird and the two hands of a human body and stated that both need to be strong to allow for advancement. ʻAbdu'l-Baha wrote:
Both Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote that an important aspect of world unity will be a greater balance between feminine and masculine influences on society, and stated that because of the greater feminine influence that wars will cease and a permanent peace attained. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote that women, as mothers, would be a force in establishing peace as they would oppose sending their children to war. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote:
Moojan Momen writes that the goal of achieving equality of women and men in the Baháʼí Faith does not amount to bringing women into power in masculine roles, but instead a more radical change to the very nature of society, to make feminine qualities more valued.
Education of women In the Baháʼí view, women have always been equal to men, and the reason why women have not achieved this equality yet is because of the lack of adequate educational and social opportunities. Thus Baháʼí teachings stress the need for women's education, not only as a means to increase opportunity for women to help achieve equality, but also since the education of mothers is essential to the proper upbringing of children. Because of the importance of the education of women, the education of daughters takes precedence over that of sons when financial resources do not exist to educate all of the children of a family. Despite the linkage between motherhood and education, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá encouraged women to excel in arts and sciences, and stated that women's participation in the political sphere would be a prerequisite for peace.
Dignity of women in the Baháʼí Faith Over a century ago, Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, proclaimed the equality of man and woman. He included it as an integral element of the social order he envisioned. He supported it by laws requiring the same standard of education for women as for men, and equality of rights in society. The Baha'i concept of the equality of women and men must be understood in the context of the pivotal principle of the Baha'i Faith—the oneness of humankind. It is a principle that addresses itself to relationships at all levels of society: relationships between individuals, within the family, within the community; relationships between individuals and their respective communities and social institutions; relationships between individuals and the natural environment; as well as relationships among nation states. The vision of the Baháʼí Faith is the creation of conditions—social, spiritual, and material—that enable the oneness of humanity to be expressed in the structure and relationships at all levels of society.
The following are two quotes from ʻAbdu'l-Bahá:
Historical women figures in Baháʼí history There have been a large number of women heroines who are celebrated in the history of the Baháʼí Faith including Khadíjih-Bagum, Táhirih, Navváb, Queen Marie, Bahíyyih Khánum, Martha Root, Leonora Armstrong, Lidia Zamenhof, and many others.
Táhirih
Táhirih was an influential poet and follower of the Bábí faith, the predecessor to the Baháʼí Faith, and often mentioned in Baháʼí literature as an example of courage in the struggle for women's rights. She is often referred to as "the first woman suffrage martyr". Táhirih was the seventeenth disciple or "Letter of the Living" of the Báb. While the writings of Táhirih do not address the issue of women's rights precisely, Táhirih experienced the Báb's revelation as liberating, and broke with Islamic practices that were expected of women, such as appearing in public without a veil at the Conference of Badasht. Her actions which were out of norm caused controversy in the community and some saw her as scandalous or unchaste. To combat the attitudes of the community against Táhirih, the Báb gave her the title Táhirih, meaning the "pure." In mid-1852 she was executed in secret on account of her Bábí faith and her unveiling. An unverified quote has been attributed to Táhirih by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá about her final utterance in 1852: "You can kill me as soon as you like, but you cannot stop the emancipation of women." According to some scholars this quote is "perhaps apocryphal".
Bahíyyih Khánum
Bahíyyih Khánum was born in 1846 and was the eldest daughter of Baháʼu'lláh and Ásíyih Khánum. She was entitled the Greatest holy Leaf. She was particularly dear to her father and is seen within the Baháʼí Faith as one of the greatest women to have lived. During World War I, she distributed food, clothing and medical aid to the starving local population. During the periods her brother was away in America, and after his death when Shoghi Effendi was named the head of the religion, but away on retreats, Bahíyyih Khánum was empowered as the acting leader of the Baháʼí Faith, which was a rare position for a woman to be in at that time. She died on 15 July 1932 was buried in the Baháʼí gardens below the Baháʼí Arc on Mount Carmel; the Monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf was built in her memory at the Baháʼí World Centre.
Serving in administration In terms of Baháʼí administration, all positions except for membership on the Universal House of Justice are open to men and women. No specific reason has been given for this exception, but ʻAbdu'l-Bahá has stated that there is a wisdom for it, which would eventually become clear. The only other field where ʻAbdu'l-Baha did not extend full and equal participation to women was in military endeavors, since he regarded the taking of human life as incompatible with women's role as mothers.
There are two branches of Baháʼí administration: appointed and elected.
Appointed Hands of the Cause
Hands of the Cause were a select group of Baháʼís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Baháʼí Faith. Unlike the members of the elected institutions and other appointed institutions in the Baháʼí Faith who serve in those offices, these are considered to have demonstrated sincerity and praiseworthy morals and qualities and achieved a distinguished rank in service to the religion and an overall station above a National Spiritual Assembly(Hornby (1983), #1079, # 1086, p. 322, 324) as well as individual members of the Universal House of Justice – indeed it is the highest station that could be achieved open to anyone in the religion.Advancement of women: a Baháʾí perspective By Janet Adrienne Khan, Peter Khan The title is no longer given out. The work of the Hands of the Cause is now carried out by the Continental Counsellors and the Auxiliary Boards.
Eight out of the fifty known Hands of the Cause were women (in order of appointment): Keith Ransom-Kehler (1876–1933) (singled out as the first woman Hand of the Cause and first American martyr) Martha Root (1872–1939) (singled out as the foremost Hand of the Cause of the first Baháʼí century and the "first finest fruit" of the Formative Age.) Dorothy Beecher Baker (1898–1954) Amelia Engelder Collins (1873–1962) Clara Dunn (1869–1960) Corinne Knight True (1861–1961) Rúhíyyih Khánum (1910–2000) Agnes Baldwin Alexander (1875–1971)
During the period between the death of Shoghi Effendi and the election of the Universal House of Justice the Hands of the Cause held a convocation from which they constituted a body of nine from among their number to serve in the Holy Land and to act as Custodians of the Baháʼí Faith, a body which functioned without officers and with a quorum of five, whose duties included taking care of Baháʼí World Center properties and other assets; corresponding with and advising National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies; acting on behalf of the Baháʼí Faith for its protection; and maintaining close contact with the rest of the Hands, who would henceforth devote their time to the successful completion of the goals of the Ten Year Crusade. The Hands of the Cause maintained the number of Custodians, replacing those who died or were unable, for health or personal reasons, to remain at the Baháʼí World Center permanently. Of these nine, two women served as Custodians: Amelia Collins and Rúhíyyih Khánum.
International Baháʼí Council
The International Baháʼí Council was a nine-member council as a precursor to the Universal House of Justice, which replaced it in 1963. In March 1951 Shoghi Effendi began appointing its membership and in 1961 elections were held (and once elections were the rule, Hands of the Cause were exempted from being members.) The women members of the International Baháʼí Council, and their dates of their service were:* Baháʼí World, Vol 12, pp. 395-401 Rúhíyyih Khanum (1951–1961) Liaison with Shoghi Effendi; Hand of the Cause of God Amelia Collins (1951–1961) Vice president; Hand of the Cause Jessie Revell (1951–1963) Treasurer Ethel Revell (1951–1963) Western Assistant Secretary Gladys Weeden (1951–52) Sylvia Ioas (1955–1961) Mildred Mottahedeh (1961–1963)
Continental Counsellors