A Compilaton on Women

the Writings o

d Tree of Remembrance spea

urned his face towards Him, and embraced His truth, and with the handmaiden who hath hearkened to His Voice and become of the blissfu

d in manifest idle fancies. Thou hast verily attained the mercy of thy Lord time and again. Render thanks unto Him and glorify Him with thy Praise. He is, in truth, with His

nslated from the Per

ne to adorn His handmaide

this time and announce unto them the glad-tidings of the tokens of the mercy and compassion of God and His consideration for them, glorified be He, and We supplicate Him for all His assistance to perform such deeds as are the

nslated from the Per

ritings and Utteran

ays of the Sun of Truth is

should strive to draw nigh unto the divine Threshold and seek bounties from the Source of existence. She should attain such a state and be confirmed with such a power as to make, with but the utterance of one word, a lowly person to be held in reverence, initiate him who is deprived into the world of the spirit, impart hope

illiant hand. Soon they will soar like the birds of the Concourse on high in the far corners of the world and will guide the people and reveal to them the divine mysteries. Ye, who are the blessed leaves from the East, should burn more brightly, and engage in spreading t

women, be the g

translated from

d wondrous Dispensation so

men in equal measure. "Verily the most honoured in the sight of God is the most virtuous amongst you"5 is applicable to both men and women, to servants and handmaidens. All are under the shadow o

cies of modesty, my cherished hope is to raise the banner of service and to become a maidservant at Thy Holy Threshold; to ride on a charger and penetrate the army of the ignorant, defeat the mighty regiments a

translated from

kingdom of God will assured

of knowledge; they had a brilliant utterance, a convincing proof, an eloquent tongue and magnificent speech, but the blessed leaf, Jináb-i-Táhirih, because she was a woman, emerged with immense splendour and dumbfounded all the people. If she were a man, this would not have been so at all. Therefore, ye should know that the greatness of the Cause hath penetrated the nerves and veins of the world in such wise

dens, the freshness of the grass and the flowing water. They should rather restrict their discussions to glorification and praise and the uttering of proofs and reasons, to quot

so manifested that each one of the handmaidens of the Merciful will b

the glory

translated from

ation the favours of the Glo

God in this new Dispensation hath caused women to be equal with men, and that in the arena of tests they will outdo others. Therefore, the true bondsmaids of the Blessed Beauty must be revived by the spirit of detachment, and refreshed by the breezes of attraction. With hearts overflo

translated from

ye for ye have arranged

ent on vindicating truth in support of the manifest Light of the Cause, through conclusive arguments and proofs based on the sacre

orious Dispensation and this great century. Ye should, most certainly, strive to perfect this assemblage and increase your knowledge of the realities of heavenly mysteries, so that, God willing, in a short time, women will become the same as men; they will take a leading posi

tidings and impart hope to one another because of the confirmations and bounties of the Ancient and Ever-Living Lord. Let each set forth proofs and evidences, and talk about the mysteries of the Kin

ne; will cause the forsaken atom to become the very essence of being, the puny one erudite in the school of knowledge. It enableth a thorny bush to give forth blossoms, and the dark earth to produce fragrant and rich hyacinths. It will transmute the stone into a ruby of great pri

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everyone, whether man or wo

e lead in this field. They strive harder in guiding the peoples of the world, and their endeavours are greater. They are confirmed by divine bestowals and

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ak forth and to deliver spe

essence of the human tongue, God's Spirit which desireth communion with the human soul unfoldeth the truths, the Faithful Spirit writeth down and the Spirit of the Ancient of Days confirmeth. I swear by that Peerless Beauty, Who is in the Unseen Kingdom, that when t

n every handmaiden who is

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To the mothers must be gi

train their children, for the mother is the first educator of the child. It is she who must, at the very beginning, suckle the new-born at th

cumbent upon the Spiritual Assemblies to provide the mothers with a well-planned programme for the education of children, showing how, from infancy, the child must be watche

'l-Bahá" [rev. ed.], (Haifa: Bahá'í Wor

istinctions between indivi

d shall become resplendent in them, and this is possible through the power of the oneness of humanity. The more love is expressed among mankind and the stronger the power of unity, the greater will be this

livered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the

n of superiority by man will

ontrary, we 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 qua

ivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the U

f, is this: that if woman

ights, she will attain the capacity for wonderful accomplishments and prove herse

livered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the

gs have been revealed in t

itude, must show forth the evidences of equality. She must become proficient in the arts and sciences and prove by her accomplishments that her abilities and powers have merely been latent. Demonstrations of force, such as are now taking place in England, are neither becoming nor effective in the cause of womanhood and equality. Woman must especially devote her energies and abilities toward the industrial and agricultur

vered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the Uni

will be established in pr

ed woman in this age, for man and woman are equally the recipients of powers and endowments f

livered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the

hen to attain greater perfe

every respect, to make progress in all in which she has been backward, so tha

the end of their school term an examination takes place, and the result thereof determines the knowledge and capacity of each

l as their Western sisters, will progress ra

e equality of women there will be no need for them to struggle for their

tenment and striving succeeds in bringing about the unity of mankind. They must work with a burning enthusiasm to spread the Teaching

n by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in

tters Written by

n of the Bahá'í women in I

ripe that those women who have already conformed to the prevailing custom in India and Burma by discarding the veil should not only be given the right to vote for the election

gard must be paid to their actual capacity and present attainments, and only those who are best qualified for membership, be they men o

he best of their ability to acquire a better and more profound knowledge of the Cause, to take a more active and systematic part in the general affairs of the Movement, and pr

to justify the high hopes we cherish for their future, and may they prove themselves in every

ational Spiritual Assembly

ccorded to Bahá'í women resi

ip of both national and local Bahá'í Spiritual Assemblies, removing thereby the last remaining obstacle to the enj

he Bahá'í World 1950–1957" (Wilmette: Ba

his community, of either s

es now presented to them through the dispensations of an all-loving, ever-watchful, ever-sustaining Providence, and lend thereby a tremendous impetus to the propelling forces mysteriously guiding the operations of this newly-lau

States, published in "Citadel of Faith: Messages to America 194

a Telex Written by the U

e influence on impressionable Bahá'í young women, we feel it would be helpful if your Assembly were to stress the unique position that women occu

onal Spiritual Assembly o

ted out that "Among the mi

t achieved." Although obviously the entire Bahá'í world is committed to encouraging and stimulating the vital r?le of women in the Bahá'í community as well as in society at large, the Five Year Plan calls specifically on eighty National Spiritual Assemblies to organize Bahá'í activities for women. In the course of the current year which has been designated "International Women's Year" as a wo

l National Spiritu

BAHá'í WOMEN, WHOSE CAPACI

LARGELY UNUSED, AND WHOSE POTENTIAL FOR SERVICE CAUSE SO GREAT, TO ARISE A

ll National Spiritu

en in the forefront of the

joice to see the women, in so many lands where previously their capacities were large

International Bahá

tivities, the spiritual, in

communities; the nurturing of a deeper understanding of Bahá'í family life; the Bahá'í education of children, including the holding of regular Bahá'í classes and, where necessary, the establishment of tutorial schools for the provision of elementary education; the encouragement of Bahá'í youth in study and serv

the Bahá'ís of

women is not, at the present

nequality still hampers its progress we must take the lead in practising this Bahá'í principle. Bahá'í women and g

the Bahá'ís of

nd national Bahá'í commun

e of activities which will engage the attention of people from all walks

all National Spiritu

itten on Behalf of the U

egards the need to educate

bility as mothers as an excellent opportunity for organizing women's activities. Your effo

tional Spiritual Assembly o

equality between women a

ction with all the other aspects of Bahá'í life. Change is an evolutionary process requiring patience with one's self and others, loving education and the passage of time as the believe

o an individual