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But Some are MoreEqual than Others
Read over any introductory book or pamphlet about the Baha'i Faith, and there, listedamong the basic social principles, will almost certainly be "the equality of men andwomen". This progressive belief is almost unique in the world's religions, inasmuch as itis scripturally based and not due to more "secular" political influences. Baha'u'llah, the prophet-founder of the Baha'i Faith, plainly said that in his religion "women are as men."What the public generally doesn't know, and converts often do not discover until after they have enrolled, is that women are excluded from serving on the religion's highestgoverning body, the Universal House of Justice, which has its seat in Haifa, Israel.To be fair, compared to almost any other religion with a hierarchical governing structure,women hold a good deal of power, especially in Western communities. Women vote, andare elected to both local and national bodies, called Spiritual Assemblies. They also serveon appointed positions at all levels. It would be unfair to characterize Baha'i policy asintolerably sexist or oppressive of women.But it is not equality.Anecdotal evidence would suggest, that in the West at least, most Baha'is are not particularly happy about this. However, the vast majority believe that the exclusion of women from the House is impossible to change, since that provision occurs in the"authorized interpretations" of Baha'i scripture. However, Baha'i scholars have cast doubton the absolute nature of this exclusion for more than a decade, and some Baha'i liberalscall openly for its abandonment.In order to understand the nature of the controversy, a small lesson in Baha'i doctrine andhistory is necessary: Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, is believed by Baha'is to be the bearer of a divine revelation. As part of this revelation, in his Will (called the Book of the Covenant), he appoints his oldest son, 'Abdu'l-Baha, as leader of the faith andinterpreter of his writings. By giving his religion a single authoritative center, Baha'u'llahintended to protect it from division. 'Abdu'l-Baha led the new faith from 1892 until hisdeath in 1921, and in his own Will & Testament appoints his eldest grandson, ShoghiEffendi Rabbani, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, a position which was given interpretiveauthority. When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, he had no children, and all his relatives had been excommunicated, so there could be no further authorized interpretations of Baha'iscripture. A great deal of current-day Baha'i belief and practice is based upon theinterpretations he provided.One of these interpretations concerns the service of women on the religion's highest
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