Dear Friends,
Are any of you aware of any particular writings in the Babi or Baha'i Faiths speaking about the equality, and more importantly, the emancipation of women, which happen to predate Qasim Amin's The Liberation of Women, published in 1900?
Thanks
Qasim Amin, Liberation of Women, and the Babi/Baha'i Faith
Hello Loren,
Have you checked the corresponding sections at http://bahai-library.com/?file=compilation_women . Each section begins with quotations from Bahá'u'lláh first, so of course these would be before 1900.
best wishes,
Brett
Have you checked the corresponding sections at http://bahai-library.com/?file=compilation_women . Each section begins with quotations from Bahá'u'lláh first, so of course these would be before 1900.
best wishes,
Brett
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Baha'i Warrior
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The Seneca Falls Conference was held in Seneca Falls New York from July 19 to July 20th in 1848. The participants set out to discuss the legal limitations imposed on women during that time. It was the first womens rights convention held in the U.S. and considered by some as the birth place of feminism.
The conference of Badasht was held in June or July of 1848. Tahirih, one of the first 18 believers of the Bab(called Letters of the Living), removed her veil publicly, signaling the Babi religion's split from Islamic Sharia Law and energizing the inevitable process of the emancipation of women. Here follows an exert recounting that tense and awesome moment.
"Muhammad-Hasan, who had seated himself at the feet of Quddús, had stretched forth his neck to receive the fatal blow, when suddenly the figure of Táhirih, adorned and unveiled, appeared before the eyes of the assembled companions. Consternation immediately seized the entire gathering. All stood aghast before this sudden and most unexpected apparition. To behold her face unveiled was to them inconceivable. Even to gaze at her shadow was a thing which they deemed improper, inasmuch as they regarded her as the very incarnation of Fátimih, the noblest emblem of chastity in their eyes.
“Quietly, silently, and with the utmost dignity, Táhirih stepped forward and, advancing towards Quddús, seated herself on his right-hand side. Her unruffled serenity sharply contrasted with the affrighted countenances of those who were gazing upon her face. Fear, anger, and bewilderment stirred the depths of their souls. That sudden revelation seemed to have stunned their faculties. ‘Abdu’l-Kháliq-i-Isfahání was so gravely shaken that he cut his throat with his own hands. Covered with blood and shrieking with excitement, he fled away from the face of Táhirih. A few, following his example, abandoned their companions and forsook their Faith. A number were seen standing speechless before her, confounded with wonder. Quddús, meanwhile, had remained seated in his place, holding the unsheathed sword in his hand, his face betraying a feeling of inexpressible anger. It seemed as if he were waiting for the moment when he could strike his fatal blow at Táhirih.
“His threatening attitude failed, however, to move her. Her countenance displayed that same dignity and confidence which she had evinced at the first moment of her appearance before the assembled believers. A feeling of joy and triumph had now illumined her face. She rose from her seat and, undeterred by the tumult that she had raised in the hearts of her companions, began to address the remnant of that assembly. Without the least premeditation, and in language which bore a striking resemblance to that of the Qur’án, she delivered her appeal with matchless eloquence and profound fervour. She concluded her address with this verse of the Qur’án: ‘Verily, amid gardens and rivers shall the pious dwell in the seat of truth, in the presence of the potent King.’ As she uttered these words, she cast a furtive glance towards both Bahá’u’lláh and Quddús in such a manner that those who were watching her were unable to tell to which of the two she was alluding. Immediately after, she declared: ‘I am the Word which the Qá’im is to utter, the Word which shall put to flight the chiefs and nobles of the earth!’"
---The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’í Revelation
page 676
The conference of Badasht was held in June or July of 1848. Tahirih, one of the first 18 believers of the Bab(called Letters of the Living), removed her veil publicly, signaling the Babi religion's split from Islamic Sharia Law and energizing the inevitable process of the emancipation of women. Here follows an exert recounting that tense and awesome moment.
"Muhammad-Hasan, who had seated himself at the feet of Quddús, had stretched forth his neck to receive the fatal blow, when suddenly the figure of Táhirih, adorned and unveiled, appeared before the eyes of the assembled companions. Consternation immediately seized the entire gathering. All stood aghast before this sudden and most unexpected apparition. To behold her face unveiled was to them inconceivable. Even to gaze at her shadow was a thing which they deemed improper, inasmuch as they regarded her as the very incarnation of Fátimih, the noblest emblem of chastity in their eyes.
“Quietly, silently, and with the utmost dignity, Táhirih stepped forward and, advancing towards Quddús, seated herself on his right-hand side. Her unruffled serenity sharply contrasted with the affrighted countenances of those who were gazing upon her face. Fear, anger, and bewilderment stirred the depths of their souls. That sudden revelation seemed to have stunned their faculties. ‘Abdu’l-Kháliq-i-Isfahání was so gravely shaken that he cut his throat with his own hands. Covered with blood and shrieking with excitement, he fled away from the face of Táhirih. A few, following his example, abandoned their companions and forsook their Faith. A number were seen standing speechless before her, confounded with wonder. Quddús, meanwhile, had remained seated in his place, holding the unsheathed sword in his hand, his face betraying a feeling of inexpressible anger. It seemed as if he were waiting for the moment when he could strike his fatal blow at Táhirih.
“His threatening attitude failed, however, to move her. Her countenance displayed that same dignity and confidence which she had evinced at the first moment of her appearance before the assembled believers. A feeling of joy and triumph had now illumined her face. She rose from her seat and, undeterred by the tumult that she had raised in the hearts of her companions, began to address the remnant of that assembly. Without the least premeditation, and in language which bore a striking resemblance to that of the Qur’án, she delivered her appeal with matchless eloquence and profound fervour. She concluded her address with this verse of the Qur’án: ‘Verily, amid gardens and rivers shall the pious dwell in the seat of truth, in the presence of the potent King.’ As she uttered these words, she cast a furtive glance towards both Bahá’u’lláh and Quddús in such a manner that those who were watching her were unable to tell to which of the two she was alluding. Immediately after, she declared: ‘I am the Word which the Qá’im is to utter, the Word which shall put to flight the chiefs and nobles of the earth!’"
---The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’í Revelation
page 676