Women’s empowerment is key to peace

WOMEN and men complement each other in their roles and functions. The happiness and stability of humanity cannot be assured unless both are perfected and treated as equals.

THE Bahá’í Writings state that: “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 progress and empowerment of women in order to attain their rightful and equal status with men is fundamental to the future well- being of the earth and its people. It is 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 pre-requisite for peace and prosperity.

The well- being of mankind depends on the development of the potential virtues and abilities of every individual, regardless of race, nationality, class, religion, or gender and, “Fundamental to the Bahá’í world-view is the concept of the oneness and wholeness of the human race, of which the equality of men and women is a vital and clearly stated spiritual and social principle, conducive to personal integration and social cohesion.”

The empowerment of women requires profound changes both in the minds and hearts of people and also in the structures of society.

It begins with the understanding that the equality of women and men is not only a desired condition for the common good; but, it is a dimension of human reality.

In one of its recent messages, the Universal House of Justice, the governing council of the Bahá’í International Community, states: “… the equality of men and women is …a universal spiritual truth about an aspect of the nature of human beings ... 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.”

Responsibility for the change in attitudes that will bring about gender equality rests both with men and women. Partnership with men and boys is very important, because unless men refuse to accept laws and practices which discriminate against, and humiliate their daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers, the change will not be possible.

The measures for bringing change in individual attitudes include provision of education to all, with special emphasis on the education of girls and women; the eradication of prejudice; and the involvement of women in positions of decision-making.

It is the Bahá’í view that women’s full and equal participation in all spheres of life is essential to social and economic development, the abolition of war, and the ultimate establishment of a united world.

Women, as mothers, bear the anxieties and difficulties of rearing and training children.

Having brought them to the age of maturity, they would not want to sacrifice their children in the battlefields.

According to the Bahá’í Writings: “When women participate fully and equally in the affairs of the world ... war will cease” and “The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes, is one of the most important, though less acknowledged pre- requisites of peace. … Only as women are welcomed into full partnership {with men} in all fields of human endeavour will the moral and psychological climate be created in which international peace can emerge.”

Empowerment of women and equality with men will bring about a more balanced and peaceful world, a world in which the more masculine qualities of force and courage will be balanced by intuition, love and service; qualities in which women are strong.

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