Office for the Advancement of Women

The equality of women and men is a fundamental tenet of Bahá’í belief. The relationship of equality to world peace is central to Bahá’í thinking on this issue and is one of the main themes of several Bahá’í statements presented at United Nations meetings. For full equality to be realized, priority must be given to the education of women, starting with greater investment in the education of girls. Essential, too, is the collaboration of men in working towards the day when women can have full equality with them in all aspects of social life. The Bahá’í Community of Canada encouraged its members to attend the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and had the largest delegation of self-supporting participants from Canada at that event.

In October of 2002, the Bahá’í Community of Canada opened in Quebec City its Office for the Advancement of Women, which has allowed closer relationships with Status of Women Canada, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and many non-governmental organizations. Bahá’ís believe that world peace, though inevitable, will be impossible until the equality of women and men is securely established.

According to the spirit of this age, women must advance and fulfill their mission in all departments of life, becoming equal to men. They must be on the same level as men and enjoy equal rights. This is my earnest prayer and it is one of the fundamental principles of Bahá’u’lláh.¹