- 1930-12-00 — The first Asian Women's Conference was held in India. [BW17:180]
- 1975-02-01 — The first Bahá'í Women's Conference of the Solomon Islands took place at Auki, Malaita Island, attended by more than 90 women. [BW16:282]
- 1975-06-19 —
Two* Bahá'í women represented the Bahá'í International Community at the first World Conference on Women in Mexico City. It was the first international conference held by the United Nations to focus solely on women's issues and marked a turning point in policy directives. Nine Bahá'ís represented the Bahá'í International Community at the parallel NGO Tribune. Those attending were: Dorothy Nelson*; Jane Faily, Sheila Banání, Edris Rice-Wray, Carmen Burafato, Catherine Mboya, Shirin Fozdar*, Jyoti Munsiff, Elsie Austin and Shomais Afnán.
- The purpose of the Conference was to give shape to a Ten-Year Plan of Action to promote equality between men and women in member nations by stressing better education and increased participation of women in decision-making in order to bring the neglected resources of women into the struggle for development and peace. [CBN No 287 Aug/Sep 1975 p16; Wikipedia; United Nations - Conferences]
- The Bahá'í International Community issued a statement entitled International Women's Year.
- See UN Women.
- 1977-10-13 —
The Asian Bahá'í Women's Conference was held in New Delhi, attended by more than a thousand women from across Asia. 1,200 women from 36 countries were in attendance. [BW17:180]
- For picture see BW17:212.
- 1977-10-17 — At the end of the Asian Bahá'í Women's Conference Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum laid the foundation stone of the Mother Temple of the Indian Subcontinent. [BW17:85, 180, 368–70; VV35]
- 1977-12-02 —
The first International Conference of Bahá'í Women in South America was held in Lima, Peru, attended by 200 women from 12 countries. [BW17:172]
- For picture see BW17:211.
- 1978-01-15 — The first National Bahá'í Women's Conference of Niger took place.
- 1978-12-28 —
The West African Bahá'í Women's Conference was held in Monrovia, Liberia with the theme, "Spiritual Education of Women-The Foundation of a New Human Society". [BW17:154]
- Delegates from sixteen countries attended. It was attended by 150 women and 50 men. Keynote speaker was Dr. Jane Faily, Consultant to the Bahá'í International Community's representative to the United Nations and a clinical psychologist associated with the University of Ottawa. [BN 136 April, 1979 pg10-15]
- 1980-10-16 —
The First Latin American Bahá'í Women's Conference was held in Brasilia at the Convention Centre.
- Leonera Armstrong, on her deathbed in Salvador, Bahia at the time, addressed the conference via a message recorded on cassette tape.
Woman, light of the future generation - when we, the women of the world, reflect on the true meaning of this theme that was chosen and as its full meaning penetrates more and more deeply into the conscience of each woman, we must understand that affectionate, that supreme privilege is ours and that inescapable duty is ours, and so we must rise as never before, to fulfill our first obligation. Women know that they are the first educators of humanity ...
[Biographical Profile] - 1988-00-00 — The first Caribbean Bahá'í Women's conference took place in Antigua.
- 1988-07-15 — The first International Women's Conference of Paraguay opened, attended by 130 women from seven countries. [BINS180:5]
- 1989-03-23 — The First National Women's Conference of Spain was held in Madrid. [BINS201:6]
- 1989-07-02 — The first European Bahá'í Women's Conference was held at De Poort Conference Centre, the Netherlands. [BINS203:2]
- 1990-05-18 — The first of seven European women's conferences sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors was held in Iskenderun, Turkey. [BINS230:1]
- 1996-03-23 — The first National Women's Seminar of Bulgaria was held in Sofia, organized by the European Task Force for Women. [BINS365:8]
- 2025-03-10 — The global community marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). The sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March 2025. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world were invited to attend the session.
The Bahá'í International Community released a statement titled In full partnership: Women’s advancement as a prerequisite for peaceful societies, emphasizing that true equality requires a transformation that goes beyond policy reforms to address the spiritual and cultural roots of inequality.
Liliane Nkunzimana, a BIC representative from the New York Office, noted: The 12 critical areas of concern articulated in Beijing were an important evolution in equality of women and men. However, many of these advances have been eroded by policy rollbacks and other forces, from the grassroots through to the international stage. This is a disturbing regression. And it should prompt us to identify more enduring approaches to transformation.” [BWNS1783; BWNS1719; Insights from the Field: Podcast explores advances in gender equality in India]
The pdf of the statement can be download here.
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