Flora Teckie
Among the pressing issues requiring greater attention – particularly during this National Women’s Month – is the critical need to remove the barriers hindering women from attaining their rightful status.
Despite the commitment by governments in many parts of the world to promote equal rights and opportunities for women and men in family, community and public life, women continue to struggle against deep-rooted patterns of dominance; and the conventional beliefs that they are inferior to men make them easy targets for anger, frustration and violence.
The happiness and stability of humanity cannot be assured unless men and women are treated as equals, as they complement each other in their roles and functions.
The Bahá’í Writings state: “The world of humanity has two wings - one is women and the other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly. Should one wing remain weak, flight is impossible” and “the happiness of mankind will be realised when women and men coordinate and advance equally, for each is the complement and help meet of the other”.
The complementary roles of women and men also imply that, if one is defective, the other also cannot attain to perfection. “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,” state the Bahá’í Writings.
The empowerment of women and their attaining rightful and equal status with men, is fundamental to the future well-being of the earth and its people. The emancipation of women is not only necessary for the future well-being of our communities; it is also a prerequisite to global peace.
The Universal House of Justice, the governing council of the Bahá’í international community says: “… the equality of men and women is… a universal spiritual truth about an aspect of the nature of human being ... It is, above all, a requirement of justice. This principle is consonant with the highest rectitude of conduct, its application strengthens family life, and it is essential to the regeneration and progress of any nation, the peace of the world, and the advancement of civilisation.”
Bahá’ís view the equality of men and women as an essential aspect of a broader principle: the oneness of humanity. In the context of the oneness of humanity, gender equality is not only a requirement of justice but it is a prerequisite for peace and prosperity.
There are no acceptable grounds, biological, social or moral, to justify denying women equality with men; and it is obvious that denial of such equality is injustice against one half of the world’s population.
The Bahá’í Writings state that “Women and men have been and will always be equal in the sight of God” and that “the rational soul has no gender, race, ethnicity or class, a fact that renders intolerable all forms of prejudice, not the least of which are those that prevent women from fullfiling their potential and engaging in various fields of endeavour shoulder to shoulder with men…”
The essence of any programme of social change is the understanding that the individual has a spiritual or moral dimension. This shapes their understanding of their life’s purpose, their responsibilities towards their families, their communities and the world.
The development of individuals’ moral and spiritual capabilities, as well as changes in our social structures are both necessary for eliminating discrimination against women, and according them their rightful status.
Teckie is a professional architect, a Bahá’í Faith follower, and spiritual columnist