Dear Susan B., I'm glad to know that you found encouragement in my posts. Thank you for telling me.
In case there was any misunderstanding, I used the topic of women on the Universal House of Justice, as an example in my discussion of limits to promoting ideas, because I thought it would be a good example of a topic that some people might think the House of Justice has tried to repress, not because I think it's a burning issue for anyone. I have no reason to think it's a burning issue for anyone, except as part of some defamation campaigns against the House of Justice. It certainly is not a burning issue for me. If you write an article, maybe you can help me reconcile some public statements and promises, from Baha'i institutions and agencies, with our exclusion of women from the House of Justice. Here is my reasoning: ---- According to statements from Baha'i Institutions and agencies: 1. Equality of women and men, includes equality of rights. "The realities of things have been revealed in this radiant century, and that which is true must come to the surface. Among these realities is the principle of the equality of man and woman -- equal rights and prerogatives in all things appertaining to humanity." (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 399) "He made woman respected by commanding that all women be educated, that there be no difference in the education of the two sexes and that man and woman share the same rights." (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 365) 2. Membership on a spiritual assembly (house of justice) is part of the equality of rights. Exclusion of women from a house of justice is an obstacle to the enjoyment of complete equality of rights. "Full rights have been accorded to Bah� women residing in the cradle of the Faith, to participate in the membership of both national and local Bah� Spiritual Assemblies, removing thereby the last remaining obstacle to the enjoyment of complete equality of rights in the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Persian Bah� Community." (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 402) "Regarding the position of the Bah� women in India and Burma, and their future collaboration with the men in the administrative work of the Cause, I feel that the time is now 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 of their local and national representatives, but should themselves be eligible to the membership of all Bah� Assemblies throughout India and Burma, be they local or national." (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 401) "In the local as well as the national Houses of Justice, however, women have the full right of membership." (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 369) 3. Equality includes participation in all branches of the administration of society, at all levels including the highest. In the Dispensation of Bah�'ll� women are advancing side by side with men. There is no area or instance where they will lag behind: they have equal rights with men, and will enter, in the future, into all branches of the administration of society. Such will be their elevation that, in every area of endeavour, they will occupy the highest levels in the human world... (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 392) We agree that women must be fully involved at all levels of decision-making . . ." (Baha'i International Community, 1990 Feb 27, Equality in Political Participation Decision-Making) "We agree that women must be fully involved at all levels of decision-making, not only because it is just, but because, in the Bah� view, the full participation of women will hasten social and political progress and lead to the establishment of world peace." (Baha'i International Community, 1990 Feb 27, Equality in >Political Participation Decision-Making) "For its part, the Bah� International Community assures the Commission that it will continue to promote the equality of women and men as an essential prerequisite for peace and social progress, working to ensure that women will be prepared to participate as full partners with men in the council chambers of the world and will become the greatest promoters of international peace and arbitration." (Baha'i International Community, 1990 Feb 27, Equality in >Political Participation Decision-Making) 4. Full and equal participation in the affairs of the world, including the arena of laws and politics, will lead to the establishment of world peace. "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;..." (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 393) "We agree that women must be fully involved at all levels of decision-making, not only because it is just, but because, in the Bah� view, the full participation of women will hasten social and political progress and lead to the establishment of world peace." (Baha'i International Community, 1990 Feb 27, Equality in Political Participation Decision-Making) 5. Equality of women and men is a prerequisite of peace. "The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes, is one of the most important, though less acknowledged prerequisites of peace." (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 391) 6. The denial of equality perpetrates injustice. "The denial of such equality perpetrates an injustice against one half of the world's population . . ." (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 392) 7. There are no grounds for such denial. "There are no grounds, moral, practical, or biological, upon which such denial can be justified. (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 391) 8. The equality of rights is absolute. I hope for a like degree of progress among the women of Europe -- that each may shine like unto a lamp; that they may cry out the proclamation of the kingdom; that they may truly assist the men; nay, that they may be even superior to the men, versed in sciences and yet detached, so that the whole world may bear witness to the fact that men and women have absolutely the same rights. (Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 368) 9. Equality of rights applies to religion. "Women have equal rights with men upon earth; in religion and society they are a very important element. 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." "Men must use their influence, particularly in the civil, political and religious institutions they control, to promote the systematic inclusion of women." (Baha'i International Community, 1995 Sept 13, Role of Religion in Promoting Advancement of Women) ---- As I see it, in the light of the above statements, excluding women from any administrative council, including the supreme council of a religion, appears to be contrary to principles that Baha'i institutions and agencies have proclaimed as fundamental teachings of our faith, and indispensable for world peace. Our only explanation for excluding women from our supreme council, is the view of our supreme council, that God told us to make an exception for our supreme council. Adding insult to injury, we call that exception "negligeable." As I see it that undermines our moral leadership, in calling upon the leaders of other religions to abandon positions which obstruct world peace. If our only reason for deviating from what we ourselves are proclaiming as universal principles indispensable for world peace, is the view of our supreme council that God told us to make an exception for our supreme council, then the moral impact of the words below is weakened. "Other segments of society embrace the implications of the oneness of humankind, not only as the inevitable next step in the advancement of civilization, but as the fulfilment of lesser identities of every kind that our race brings to this critical moment in our collective history. Yet, the greater part of organized religion stands paralyzed at the threshold of the future, gripped in those very dogmas and claims of privileged access to truth that have been responsible for creating some of the most bitter conflicts dividing the earth's inhabitants." (The Universal House of Justice, 2002 April, To the World's Religious Leaders, p. 2) __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:archive@mail-archive.com Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:bahai-st@list.jccc.edu Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.net New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/bahai-st@list.jccc.edu
