Created Equal by BahaiBookstore.com

————o———— Baharieh Rouhani Maˋani

Created Equal

CREATED EQUAL

Cover designed by Joe Paczkowski

ISBN 978-81-954624-3-8

Publishing Agency:

Baha’i Literature and Publication Trust

F3/6, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-1, New Delhi -110020

Publisher: Rajesh Jiwnani

Printer:

Bosco Society for Printing and Graphic Training, Okhla Road, New Delhi - 110025

Contents Preface.............................................. 1 MaleandFemaleCreatedin God’sImage................. 5 ContradictionsInAncient Records ..................... 7 MaleSuperiorityCharacteristic ofMan’sAgeofImmaturity .......................... 9 WomenInReligious History........................... 11 FundamentalChangein Women’sStatus................ 15 RestoringtoWomenTheir InherentRights ............. 25 Táhirih(Qurratu’l-ˋAyn), AnIndomitableFemaleFigure ....................... 27 TheEffectofReligious Strife onWomenBelievers: ABriefBackground.............. 37 TheFortofShaykhTabarsí UpheavalinMázandarán............................. 37 TheFortofKhájihUpheavalin Nayríz .................... 40 TheFortofˋAlí-Mardán Khán UpheavalinZanján ................................. 42 Zaynab(Rustam-ˋAlí) andHerFemaleCompanions........... 43 ˋAnbarKhánum(Umm-iAshraf) ........................ 50 TheMountainWar inNayríz............................ 54 MeetingKhadíjihBagum,theWifeoftheBáb ............... 58 BabyBorninAridLand............................... 58 EqualityofMen& Women, ACardinalPrinciple ofBahá’u’lláh’sCause ........... 59 Implementationofthe Principle ofEqualityofMen &Women ........................ 61 ThePersecutionofBahá’ís inIran AfterAReliefInterval ............................. 71 ResumptionofHostilities InNayríz: TheUprisingofShaykhZakaríyyá.................... 73 ParíjánKhánumandHerMother......................... 74 Núríján(Núríyyih) Khánumand HerMother-in-law.................................. 80 KhávarSultán ....................................... 88 i

TheMassacreofBahá’ís inYazd ....................... 93 Laqáˋíyyih(Laqá) KhánumMálamírí ...................... 93 FátimihBagum,ADistinguished WomanMartyrin Yazd ............................. 118 TheQuestofIranian Bahá’í WomenforSexualEquality ........................ 121 ASampleofIranian Bahá’íWomen ServingatHomeandAbroad ....................... 123 ˋAlavíyyihKhánumMáhfírúzakí (Máhfurúzakí)............. 126 FátimihKhánum,Granddaughter of ASurvivorofthe MountainWar inNayríz............... 130 RúháKhánumMahbúbíMaghzí ........................ 140 BíbíSakínihGulpáygání .............................. 148 MunavarKhánumNámdárKíyání....................... 161 ˋAbdu’l-Bahá’sTablets oftheDivinePlan .............. 171 SamíhihKhánumRafíˋíBanání ......................... 171 ˋAtíyyih(ˋAtieh) KhánumHaghighi...................... 196 TheFurtherProgressofWomen DuringtheFormative Age.......................... 217 ShoghiEffendi’sTen YearGlobalSpiritual Crusade:Iranian Bahá’í Women’sEligibility forElectionto Bahá’íInstitutions ...... 217 TheEstablishmentof theUniversalHouse ofJustice........................ 219 AppendixI SenecaFallsConvention........................... 221 AppendixII TheMashriqu’l-AdhkárofˋIshqábád................. 225 Bibliography ....................................... 229 Acknowledgements ................................. 231 Index.............................................. 232 Contents ii

CreatedEqual isanarrativeofwomen’sjourneyfrom subjugation to emancipation,basedonreligioushistory.Thebookdiscussesthemovingpowerbehindwomen’sprogressinrecenttimesandhighlightsthe livesofdistinguishedwomenintheBábíFaithandearlyhistoryofthe Bahá’íFaith.Itprovidesexamplesofsomeearlywomenwhothrough theirdistinguishedservicestestifiedtotheefficacyoftheteachingsgivingthemavoice,puttingthemonthepathtoregainingtheirinherent rights.

CreatedEqualincludesthenamesandthenatureofservicesrendered byasmallcontingentofwomencoveredinBahá’íhistorybooks,also thenamesofsomewhoservedtheFaithwithdistinctionbutleftlittletrace.Thegroupofwomenmentionedbynameinchaptersdevoted tothedescriptionoftheirlivesisbutasampleofthosewho,despite traditionallimitations,stoodoutfromamongtheirpeersfortheservicestheyrendered.Therearemanymore.TheonescoveredinCreated Equal arethoseaboutwhomtheauthorwasabletoobtainsufficient informationfora shortbiography.

EversincetheinceptionoftheFaith,countlesswomeninthelandof itsbirthandbeyondhavepatientlyenduredunderseveretrials.They sparednoefforttoservetheinterestsoftheCausetheyembraced.They gavegenerouslyofwhattheyownedwithnoexpectationofreward. Theyoftenraisedsinglehandedlytheiroffspringwhosefathershad beenmartyred,languishedinprisonorsuffereduntimelydeath,keepingthefireofthe loveofGodburning brightlyintheirhearts.

Thedevastatingeffectoftheconstraintsimposedonwomenforcenturiescouldnotbewipedawaysuddenly.Thegroundhadtobepreparedgraduallythroughpainstakingefforts,themindshadtobecultivatedtorecognizetheprincipleofsexual equality, theconsciencehad tobeawakened,torespectwomen’sinherentrights.Theprocessof educatingthemassestoseewomenalongsidemenineverysphereof publiclifetookdecades.EarlywomenbelieverslivinginIslamiccountriesweregenerallydeprivedofaneducation,barredfromparticipatinginpublicdiscourseordoinganythingleadingtotheiridentitybeing exposed.Revealingtheirnamesandparticularsorpublicizinginformationabouttheirachievementsandaspirationswereregardedimproper bysocietiesinwhichtheylived.Asaresult,womenlackedindependentidentity,wereconsideredadjunctstoimmediatemalemembers

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Preface

oftheirfamily.Therestrictivemeasuresaimedatandsucceededin renderingwomenimpotenttoriseabovebarriersarbitrarilysetup toimpedetheirprogress.Consequently,theyremainedpredominantly illiterate,unabletomaketheirthoughtsknown,toportrayinwritingwhattheyexperiencedinlife.Historiansdependedoneyewitness accountsprovidedalmostinvariablybymen.Seldomdida Middle Eastern womanofthaterapenhermemoirs,venturetowriteanopinionaboutwhatwasgoingonaroundher,oranalyzeinwritinganevent fromthepointof viewofhergender.

Tofamiliarizethereaderwiththewaywomenweretreatedwhenthe TwinManifestationsofGod (Bahá’u’lláh andthe Báb) revealedTheir Missionsinthemiddleofthenineteenthcentury, CreatedEqual providesabriefreviewofwomen’sstatusin religion, discussesthe causes contributingtotheirdegradedstatus,andoffersexamplesofhow religionhelpedimprovetheircondition.Italsoexplainshowtheteachings of Bahá’u’lláh removedalldistinctions,makingitpossiblefor ˋAbdu’lBahá toimplementtheprincipleofthe equality ofmenandwomen duringHisministry.

Theshortbiographiesincludedin CreatedEqual includeasampling ofwomenwho,throughtheirlongsufferingandsteadfastservice, contributedtotheprocessofcarryingforwardthedivinecivilization foreshadowedin Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings.Prevailingconditionsin Iran andotherIslamiccountriesduringtheearlyyearsoftheFaith’sexistencerestrictedBahá’íhistoriansfromobtainingtheparticularsofthe womenbelieversandtheservicestheyrendered. Táhirih isaglaringexception.Informationaboutherlife,servicesandmartyrdom becamewidelyavailableshortlyaftershesuffereddeathbystrangulation(somesaysuffocation).Sheisatrulyexceptionalfigureinthe historyof religion. Nohistoriancouldaffordignoringthevitalrole sheplayedinpromotingtheBábíFaith,andinhighlightingwomen’s plight.Herexceptionalandextraordinaryexampleotherwomenwere unequippedtoemulate.Strenuouseffortsexertedovercenturiesto keepwomenbackward,theirGod-givenaptitudesuntapped,theirmeritoriousworkkeptunderwrap,resultedinthebeliefthattheearly womenbelievers,exceptforfew,didnotdoanythingworthwhileto warranthistoricalcoverage.Thisperceptioncausedmuchvaluable informationaboutwomen’sworktobeoverlooked,consequentlylost. Whatevercanberetrievedtodaywillsufferthesamefateifmakingit knownisfurtherdelayed.Asolderpeoplepassaway,thepoolofindividualswithcrucialinformationdriesout.Lackofinformationmakesit

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Preface 3

impossibletofigureoutthecontributionswomenmadetotheprogress oftheFaithintheearlydecadesofitsdevelopment.CreatedEqualisan attempt,inadequateasitmayappear,ofmakingavailableinformation abouttheearlywomenbelievers.Thisisaprojectthisauthorhadin mindpursuingimmediatelyafterthepublicationof LeavesoftheTwin DivineTreesin2008.Theprocessofgatheringinformationanddifficultiesexperiencedalong thewaydelayed itscompletion.

MostofthewomencoveredinCreatedEqualarerelatedtoprominent men,aboutwhominformationisreadilyavailableinpublishedform. Thatinformationhashelpedinfiguringouthowthewomenofthe samehouseholdfared.Itisnotpossibletoconstructaperson’sbiographyaboutwhomnoinformationisavailable,nomatterhowlaudable herorhisservicesandendeavourshavebeen.TheearlywomenbelieversrendereduniqueservicestospreadandadvancetheFaith.Itwould beregrettablenot knowingwhatthey didandhowthey served.

Themeansofcollectinginformationhasbeenthroughpersonalinterviewsandaquestionnairesenttoindividualsabletoprovideinformationaboutthemselvesorspecificwomenidentifiedbyname.Not everyoneresponded.Informationgatheredfromthosewhodidrespond iscontainedinthebook,togetherwiththenameoftheresponder.The bookalsoincludesinformationpiecedtogetherfromprimaryPersian andEnglishpublishedsourceshighlightingtheservicesrenderedand thesacrificesmade bysomeearlywomen believers.

Toprovidecontext,thebiographiesappearundertheheadingofa majorhistoricaleventorlandmarkinthehistoryoftheFaith.Although eachsubchapterisinthenameofaspecificindividual,withinitare containedthenamesandatleastsomeparticularsofotherwomenwho sharedthesamefate orplayedapart inthesameevent.

Thenewlytranslatedandpreviouslyunpublishedwritingsrevealed inhonourofsomeofthefigurescoveredinthebookhavebeentranslatedbytheauthor,reviewedattheBahá’íWorldCentreandaccepted forpublication.

Finally,oneofthechallengesforbringingtobroadercontemporary awarenessthelivesandcontributionsofearlywomenbelievershas beenhowtorefertothem—theirverynames.Beforetheearly1920s, familynameswerenotusedinIran.Manyearlywomenbelieversnever hadthechancetoacquiretheliteracytoasserttheirownpreferred formandspellingofaname.Withoutastablenametodifferentiate onefromanother,theirlivescanappearsomewhatamorphousinthe generalobscuritytowhichthetimesconsignedthesewomen.Forthis

work,nameshavebeengivenaconsistenttransliterationcombined, whereadequatelysupported,withatitleorhonorificusedforthe individualintheirtime.Wheneverpossible,afterfamilynameswere adoptedin Iran, theyhavebeenusedwhenintroducinganindividual inthemaintextandintheindex;forsome,however,wehaveonlya singlenameandanhonorific.Thisworkmayhelptorecoveratleast someofthelivesandcontributionsoftheseearlywomenbelieversin theCauseof Bahá’u’lláh.

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