By: Dr. Mohammed Alam Qurayshi

Amongst the many doctrines adopted by the Baha’is to attract converts to their fold is the concept of \"Advancing the Status of Women\". Baha’is are often found to shout themselves hoarse over this concept as if they were the first to put forth the concept of equality of men and women. The Baha’is use this doctrine very aggressively to secure a place in the minds of the people of today\'s liberal world.

It is interesting to understand why the Baha’is are so very vociferous about this principle, unlike the other principles (for example, the concept of a universal language). Perhaps it is due to the fact that women constitute approximately half of world\'s population. Or maybe it is possible that winning the interest of a woman will have a positive effect on the next generation. Perhaps above all, they wish to demonstrate themselves as a very progressive religion. Nevertheless, it is essential to verify the truth in this principle advanced by the Baha’is as being one of their own.

I have chosen to confine my arguments within the Baha’i Faith, while Islam has evidently laid down regulations to advance the status of women centuries earlier.

To highlight their commitment, the Baha’is are prolific in talking about this principle. Words from Bahaullah, Abdul Baha and Shoghi are quoted to express the Baha’i devotion to women.

Abdul Baha is quoted to have said in Promulgation p 375, \"The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot wing its way to heights of real attainment. When the two wings . . . become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary.

I urge you to read the above statement to absorb its importance.

As per Abdul Baha - the sole interpreter of the Baha’i Faith -women must enjoy equal authority and perform the same activities as men. Till this is not done, humanity will never reach attainment. Fair enough.

However a question arises here. Why has the Universal House of Justice - the apex governing body of the Baha’i Faith - never had any female representation? This is not due to the lack of qualified women amongst the Baha’i Faith. Rather women are expressly debarred from becoming members of the Universal House of Justice!

It is clear that the primary Baha’i body, which must be obeyed by all Baha’is, refuses to adhere to the words of the founders of the Baha’i Faith. A factual indication that Baha’is are not interested in advancing the status of women, but are simply paying lip service to deceitfully attract new converts.

Historically central Baha’i figures, namely Bab, Baha and Abdul Baha never regarded women as equal to men. The 19 Apostles of Bahaullah were all men! Even, among the 18 Letters of Living of Bab, there was only one woman! I wish to draw your attention to the following statistics.

Please note that leave alone equality, Bahaullah did not deem fit to give any position to women. It is clear from above that neither in the past (Bab, Bahaullah) nor in the present (UHJ), were women considered equal to men.

There is no doubt that advancing the status of women is a proposition which is appeal to all. However while the concept is being trumpeted by the Baha’is, it is more important to see how far that is implemented in spirit and in practice. For the Baha’i Faith, it appears that the concept is being advanced merely to attract more women and consequently, the next generation to their fold.

Under the customary tribal law existing in Arabia at the advent of Islam, women as a general rule had virtually no legal status. They were sold into marriage by their guardians for a price paid to the guardian, the husband could terminate the union at will, and women had little or no property or succession rights. women\'s status in pre-Islamic Arabia was poor, citing practices of female infanticide, unlimited polygyny, patrilineal marriage and others. In some tribes, women were emancipated even in comparison with many of today\'s standards. There were instances where women held high positions of power and authority.

In other tribes, women were of low status or even worse. Women enjoyed no rights whatsoever and were treated no better than a commodity. Not only they were enslaved, but they could also be inherited as a possession. They were subordinate to their fathers, brothers, and husbands. In some instances, women were chattels, effectively property. A woman had no share in inheritance because she was regarded as unwise and incapable of effectively managing her inherited property. There were also patterns of homicidal abuse of women and girls, including instances of killing female infants considered to be a liability. The Quran mentions that the Arabs in Jahiliya (the period of ignorance or pre-islamic period) used to bury their daughters alive. The motives were twofold: the fear that an increase in female offspring would result in economic burden, as well as the fear of the humiliation frequently caused by girls being captured by a hostile tribe and subsequently preferring their captors to their parents and brother. In his book Infanticide: Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives, Glenn Hausfater details how Qais Bin Assem, a leader of the Tamim tribe, killed every daughter he had for fear of their capture (and his disgrace) in the inter-tribal wars that dominated Arabian society at that time. According to some scholars; during times of famine, especially, poorer families were likely to kill a daughter, regarding her as a burden on a starving family.

Prior to Islam, a woman’s status in the sight of all nations of the World was nothing more than the value of household goods. They were treated like animals. They were bought and sold. They had no choice in the matter of marriage; they had to silently accept the highest bidder. They never inherited, even from their close relatives. In fact, she herself would become an item of distribution just like any other commodity of inheritance in a descendant’s estate. Women were regarded merely as properties and possessions of men. Even in the so-called modern European countries they were not even regarded as human. Even in religious matters women were given no status by the men, for they were not considered to be worthy of prayer or fit to be counted as human.

It was generally accepted that it was permissible for men to bury their daughters alive, and this heartless act of inhumanity was regarded as an act sight of humanity and respect. Further more, it was generally accepted that if a lady was murdered then her murderer could not be punished in any way. Neither was he to be killed in retaliation nor was he to pay blood money. According to many religions, when a man dies, his wife has to burn herself to death.

Status of Woman after Islam

It is generally accepted that Islam changed the structure of Arab society and to a large degree unified the people, reforming and standardizing gender roles throughout the region. According to Islamic studies professor William Montgomery Watt, Islam improved the status of women by \"instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce.

Islam was introduced in the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century, and generally improved the status of women compared to earlier Arab cultures. According to the Qur\'anic decrees, both men and women have the same duties and responsibilities in their worship of God. As the Qur\'an states: \"I will not suffer to be lost the work of any of you whether male or female. You proceed one from another\".(Qur\'an 3:195)

The Qur\'an rejected the traditional and cultural practice of killing unwanted female children soon after birth. As it appears in (Qur\'an 16:58-59),the religious message states: \"When news is brought to one of them, of (the birth of) a female (child), his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief. With shame he hides himself from his people, because of the bad news he has had! shall he retain it (his face) (sufferance and) contempt, or bury it in the dust? Ah! what an evil (choice) they decide on!\" The Prophet of Islam said that \"one to whom a daughter is born and who does not bury her alive, does not humiliate her not prefer a son to a daughter, will be sent to Paradise\". Another tradition of Muhammad makes hell fire prohibited to he who undergoes trials and tribulations due to a daughter and yet does not hate her and behaves well towards her.

The Islamic studies professor William Montgomery Watt states:

It is true that Islam is still, in many ways, a man’s religion. But I think I’ve found evidence in some of the early sources that seems to show that Muhammad made things better for women. It appears that in some parts of Arabia, notably in Mecca, a matrilineal system was in the process of being replaced by a patrilineal one at the time of Muhammad. Growing prosperity caused by a shifting of trade routes was accompanied by a growth in individualism. Men were amassing considerable personal wealth and wanted to be sure that this would be inherited by their own actual sons, and not simply by an extended family of their sisters’ sons. This led to a deterioration in the rights of women. At the time Islam began, the conditions of women were terrible - they had no right to own property, were supposed to be the property of the man, and if the man died everything went to his sons. Muhammad improved things quite a lot. By instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce, he gave women certain basic safeguards. Set in such historical context the Prophet can be seen as a figure who testified on behalf of women’s rights.

During the early reforms under Islam in the 7th century, reforms in women\'s rights affected marriage, divorce and inheritance. Women were not accorded with such legal status in other cultures, including the West, until centuries later. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam states that the general improvement of the status of Arab women included prohibition of female infanticide and recognizing women\'s full personhood. \"The dowry, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal property.\" Under Islamic law, marriage was no longer viewed as a \"status\" but rather as a \"contract\", in which the woman\'s consent was imperative. \"Women were given inheritance rights in a patriarchal society that had previously restricted inheritance to male relatives.\" Annemarie Schimmel states that \"compared to the pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the letter of the law, to administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work.\" William Montgomery Watt states that Muhammad, in the historical context of his time, can be seen as a figure who testified on behalf of women’s rights and improved things considerably. Watt explains: \"At the time Islam began, the conditions of women were terrible - they had no right to own property, were supposed to be the property of the man, and if the man died everything went to his sons.\" Muhammad, however, by \"instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce, gave women certain basic safeguards.\" Haddad and Esposito state that \"Muhammad granted women rights and privileges in the sphere of family life, marriage, education, and economic endeavors, rights that help improve women\'s status in society.\"

Source:www.TheBahaiTruth.com