The Conference of Badasht

Bahá'u'lláh, who hosted and directed the event, rented three gardens, one for Quddús, another for Táhirih and the third for Himself. [Bab168; GPB31, 68; MF200]

The conference coincided with the removal of the Báb to Tabríz for interrogation in July. It was held near the village of Sháhrúd in Semnan province. [BBRSM23; DB292]

• `The primary purpose of that gathering was to implement the revelation of the Bayán by a sudden, a complete and dramatic break with the past — with its order, its ecclesiasticism, its traditions, and ceremonials. The subsidiary purpose of the conference was to consider the means of emancipating the Báb from His cruel confinement in Chihríq.' [BBRSM23; BKG43; DB297–8; GPB31, 157]
• From the beginning of His ministry the Báb had implicitly claimed some higher spiritual station than merely that of being the "bábu'l-imám" and in the early months of 1848 while still in prison in Máh-Kú He put forward these claims to his companions. He proclaimed HImself to be the Imam Mahdi, the promised Q´'im (He who will arise), the inaugurator of the Resurrection and the abrogator of the Islamic holy law. [BBRSM23]
• Bab167 says that the Bábís did not come to Badasht to make plans to rescue the Báb.
• It was attended by 81 believers and lasted 22 days. [BKG43–4, 46; DB292–3; GPB312]
• Each day Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet, and on each believer He conferred a new name. Each day an Islamic law was abrogated. Henceforth, when the Báb was addressing the believers, He used the new name that Bahá'u'lláh had bestowed upon them. [DB293; GPB32]
• See BKG44–5; DB293 and MF201 for the story of the central event, Táhirih's confrontation with Quddús and removal of her veil.
  Ṭáhirih, seizing upon the opportunity, arose and, unveiled, came forth from the garden. She proceeded towards the tent of Bahá'u'lláh crying out and proclaiming: "I am the Trumpet-blast; I am the Bugle-call!"—which are two of the signs of the Day of Resurrection mentioned in the Qur'án. Calling out in this fashion, she entered the tent of Bahá'u'lláh. No sooner had she entered than Bahá'u'lláh instructed the believers to recite the Súrih of the Event from the Qur'án, a Súrih that describes the upheaval of the Day of Resurrection.
  [Twelve Table Talks given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká, no. 9, "Ṭáhirih and the Conference of Badasht"]
• Also see Bab167–9; BBD31–2; BBRSM46; BKG43–7; DB292–8; RB2:353.
• See The World-Wide Influence of Qurratul-'Ayn by Standwood Cobb.

The Women's Rights Convention was held in the Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls, NY. The principle organizer was Lucretia Mott, with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as its driving intellect. A significant role was played by an African-American man, an abolitionist and a recently freed slave, Frederick Douglass. The convention adopted a Declaration of Rights and Sentiments that consisted of 11 resolutions including the right for women to vote. The signatories were the 68 women and 32 men in attendance. The right for women to vote became part of the United States Constitution in 1920. [The Calling: Tahirih of Persia and her American Contemporaries p114-160, "Seneca Falls First Woman's Rights Convention of 1848: The Sacred Rites of the Nation" by Bradford W. Miller (Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 8.3, 1998)]
• This conference has been compared to the Conference of Badasht with respect to the emancipation of women and entrenched prejudices.
• Tahirih and Women's Suffrage written by / on behalf of Universal House of Justice in which they deal with the question of the relationship between Táhirih and women's sufferage as well as the station of Táhirih herself.

The Governor sent a mob against Hujjat, (Mulla Muhammad-Ali) which was dispersed by Mír Saláh. The Governor sent to Tihrán for reinforcements and the town Zanján was split into two camps. [BW18:381]
• See BBD245 and GPB45 for the story of Zaynab, the Bábí woman who dressed as a man and defended the barricades.
• Zaynab and the Women of Zanjan.
• The first episode of a podcast about Zaynab.

The martyrdom of Táhirih (Qurratu'l-'Ayn) in Tihrán. [BBR172–3; BBRSM:30; BW18:382; BKG87; MF203]
• She was martyred in the Ílkhání garden, strangled with her own silk handkerchief which she had provided for the purpose. Her body was lowered into a well which was then filled with stones. [BBD220; DB622–8; GPB75]
• See GPB73–5 for a history of her life.
• See the story of her martyrdom and her life in the article in Radio France International.
• 'Abdu'l-Bahá is reported to have said:
  She went to that garden with consummate dignity and composure. Everyone said that they were going to kill her, but she continued to cry out just as she had before, declaring, "I am that trumpet-call mentioned in the Gospel!" It was in this state that she was martyred in that garden and cast into a well. [Talk by Abdu'l-Baha Given in Budapest to the Turanian Society on 14 April 1913 (Provisional)
  iiiii

Dr Susan Moody, a famed American homeopathist, arrived in Tihrán. She and four Persian Bahá'í doctors started the Sehat Hospital. Because the hospital was only accessible to the wealthy she established a private practice that was open to all women regardless of their ability to pay. [BFA2:359-360]
• She spent two days in 'Akká en route to Persia and 'Abdu'l-Bahá conferred upon her the title Amatu'l-'Alí (Handmaid of the Most High). [BFA2:358]
• Dr Sarah A. Clock arrived from Seattle in 1911 to assist her followed by Miss Elizabeth Stewart (nurse). [BFA2:361]
• In 1925-1926, after the murder of Robert Imbrie, she travelled the United States from the east to the west coast, raising awareness of the needs of the work in Iran.
• Dr Sarah Clock sailed from New York for Iran on 8 December 1910. She served the Bahá'í community of Iran with great sacrifice for years. While her main task was treatment of the sick, she never ceased educating the youth. She was an energetic tolerant and contented woman. Very often needy people were not only exempted from paying her meagre honoraria, but also received medicaments for free. She was highly respected by the Bahá'í community and non-Bahá'í alike. Finally after twelve years of devoted service, she died of pneumonia in Tehran. [OLOMp43-44]

Within a year of her arrival in Persia, Dr. Susan Moody opened the Tarbíyat School for Girls in Tihrán. [BBD221–2; BFA2:360–1]

Some of those serving at the school were: Susan Moody, Sydney Sprague, Lillian Kappas, Sarah Clock and Elizabeth Stewart. [GPB261]

• Miss Lillian Kappes of Hoboken, New Jersey arrived in December of 1911 to serve as a teacher. She stopped in Thonon to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the way. [SoW Vol 2 No 17 Jan 19. 1912 p2] She died on the 1st of December, 1920 of typhus and was buried there.
• She was replaced by Genevieve Coy, a qualified psychologist, a Ph.D. in 1922 who was followed by Adelaide Sharp in 1929. Her mother, Clara Sharp joined her in 1931. [BFA2p361, AY233]
• Elizabeth Stewart who served as a nurse at the school accompanied Lillian Kappes on her arrival. Miss Stewart served until 1924 when she returned to Philadelphia where she died in 1926. [ABF43]
• Munírih Khánum Ayádí, the mother of Dr Karím Ayádí (later famed as the Shah's much-trusted doctor) was Persia's first official Director of the Tarbíyat School for Girls. She was widely recognized as exceptional, at a time when Persia's Bahá'í women were only gradually emerging from their earlier state under Islam. Much respected by the men, her attitude toward them was one of total equality. Her greatness was in herself, her devotion to the Faith absolute, and she was made a member of such advanced committees as the Bahá'í Women's Committee. Her views were moderated by her sense of humour, which included self-deprecation so that she never subjected you to her piety. One day during the Bahá'í Fast, she asked Marzieh Gall: 'Do you think God would notice if I ducked into that room and sneaked a few puffs of tobacco?' [AY333]

The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-Taqíy-i-Abharí (Ibn-i-Abhar). He was born in 1853/4 in Abhar.
• For four years he suffered in Síyáh-Chál wearing the very same chains as Bahá'u'lláh had worn in 1852.
• On being informed that the friends in Tihrán had arranged to observe the commandment of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Bahá'u'lláh revealed, in one of His Tablets to Ibn-i-Asdaq (later named as a Hand of the Cause), the following well known Words:
  Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified. -Bahá'u'lláh
  [Some Bahai Sacred Spaces for Community, Slide presentation by the UK Community, Slide #74]
• His services during the time of the Master included teaching journeys through Persia, the Caucasus and India. He also made some eleven journeys to the Holy Land with the permission of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
• A special service rendered by Ibn-i-Abhar was the promotion of the education of women. He and his wife played an important part in the advancement of women in Persian society.
• In 1886 Bahá'u'lláh appointed him a Hand of the Cause. He died in 1917. [LoF13-16, BBD114, EB268; Bahaipedia]
• Shoghi Effendi designated him as an Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh. [LoF12]

The Bahá'ís of Iran launched a Forty-five Month Plan, the Persian 45 Month Plan ( 11 October 1946 to 9 July 1950, The Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb). Every province had specific assignments. [BBRSM158; CB316] The objectives of the plan included;

1. Consolidation of all local Bahá'í communities.

2. Reestablishment of 62 dissolved Assemblies. (93 LSAs formed)

3. Formation of 22 groups. (37 established)

4. Creation of 13 new centres. (24 localities established)

5. Development of Assemblies from groups in three adjoining countries, namely in Kabul, Afghanistan, Mecca, Arabia and Bahrein Island, Persian Gulf.

6. The formation of groups in four localities on the Arabian Peninsula.

7. The sending pioneers to India and 'Iráq to assist in the formation of new groups.

The Bahá'ís of Tehran were called upon to send out 50 families into the pioneer field. (160 arose) Every individual Bahá'í was included in the operation of the Plan-as a volunteer, by deputizing a pioneer, by contributing funds, by circuit teaching or by providing hospitality to students whose parents had become pioneers. [BW4p34-35; BW11p34-36]

• Concurrent with the Forty-Five Month Plan the Bahá'ís of Iran made a concerted effort to remove Bahá'í women from the traditional shackles of a lack of education and an inability to participate in public affairs. Women's conferences were held, educational opportunities were created, equality of opportunity, right and privilege was declared to be an essential. [BW11p36].

Bahá'í women in Egypt were extended the right of membership on local spiritual assemblies. [MBW12]
• Shoghi Effendi called this 'a notable step in the progress of Bahá'í women of the Middle East'. [MBW12]

Bahá'í women in Iran were accorded full rights to participate in membership of both national and local Bahá'í assemblies. [MBW65]
• This removed the 'last remaining obstacle to the enjoyment of complete equality of rights in the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Persian Bahá'í Community'. [MBW65]

In a cabled message, the Universal House of Justice called upon Bahá'í women around the world to arise and play an active role in the service of the Faith. [BW17:202]
• For the report of the response to this call see BW17:202–14.

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.

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.

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]

Ten representatives of the Bahá'í International Community attended the third World Conference on Women to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women and Forum '85 in Nairobi. [BW19:147–8, 412; VV28–9]
• For a report of the Bahá'í participation see BW19:4.12–15.
• For pictures see BW19:413, 415.
• See UN Women.

The publication of the compilation entitled "Women" by the Universal House of Justice. [Messages63-86p704, Compilation of CompilationsVol 2 p355]
• Also see a message to an individual from the Universal House of Justice entitled "Women - Their Role in Society and the Establishment of Peace; Membership on the Universal House of Justice". [Messages63-86p707-709]

The paper raised the possibility that the ineligibility of women for membership on the Universal House of Justice may be a temporary provision subject to change through a process of progressive unfoldment of the divine purpose. [31 May 1988]

The Bahá'í Vocational Institute for Rural Women, a non-profit education project based in Indore, India, was one of 74 individuals and institutions presented with the United Nations Environment Programme 'Global 500' award in Rio de Janeiro. [BINS272:5; BW92–3:125; VV110]
• For picture see BW92–3:183.

The Universal House of Justice announced its decision to establish an Office for the Advancement of Women at the headquarters of the Bahá'í International Community in New York. Support for UN efforts to improve the status of women, which had been carried out for twenty years by the United Nations Office, continued uninterrupted under the auspices of this new office. At annual sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, statements addressed appropriate topics on the agenda, such as partnership between women and men, the status of girl children, the participation of women in decision making, partnership for development, and the human rights of women. [VV29; 54; BIC Document #: 95-0228; BW92–3:136]
• The Office for the Advancement of Women officially opened its doors on the 26th of May, 1993. [BINS296:2; BW93–4:83–9; VV29] For pictures see BW93–4:83, 86.

Some 400-500 Bahá'í women and men from more than 50 countries around the world participated in the NGO Forum on Women at the Fourth United Nations International Conference on Women held in the resort city of Huairou some 50 kilometers north of Beijing.
• See One Country Vol 7 Issue 2 for profiles of some of the attendees.
• Bahá'í perspectives on equality were also shared with both Conference and Forum participants through distribution of The Greatness Which Might Be Theirs , a collection of Bahá'í International Community statements and essays by Bahá'ís reflecting on the Agenda and Platform for Action. The booklet's title is drawn from the words of `Abdu'l-Bahá: "As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibility, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs."
  • Introduction: Religion as an Agent for Promoting the Advancement of Women at all Levels.
  • Education: Educating Girls: An Investment in the Future.
  • Health: Primary Health Care and the Empowerment of Women.
  • Violence: Ending Violence Against Women.
  • Economic Structures: Women in the Informal Sector in Malaysia.
  • Power Sharing Bahá'í Law and Principle: Creating Legal and Institutional Structures for Gender Equality.
  • Mechanisms for Advancement: UNIFEM/Bahá'í Project Raises Community Awareness.
  • Human Rights: Protection of Women's Rights.
  • Girl Child: The Girl Child: A Critical Concern.
  • Appendix: The Status of Women in the Bahá'í Community.
• See Towards the Goal of Full Partnership: One Hundred and Fifty Years of the Advancement of Women by Ann Boyles written in anticipation of the conference. It is a survey of the Bahá'í community's efforts to understand and practice the principle of equality between men and women. [BW93-94p237-275]

Fourth World Conference on Women was held at the Beijing International Conference Centre. It was one of the largest international meetings ever convened under United Nations auspices, some 17,000 people were registered including 5,000 delegates from 189 states and the European Union, 4,000 NGO representatives, and more than 3,200 members of the media. [BW95-96p151-158]
• See Equality, Development, and Peace: Baha'is and the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and NGO Forum. [BW95-96p145-158]
• The conference was called by the United Nations to review progress made toward implementation of the "Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women" adopted at the Third World Conference in Nairobi in 1985.
• Seven Bahá'í delegations were accredited to the conference: the Bahá'í International Community, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, the Bahá'í community of the Netherlands, the Bahá'í community of Canada, l' Association Bahá'íe de Femmes (France), l' Association médicale Bahá'íe (France), and the National Bahá'í Office for the Advancement of Women (Nigeria).
• By the end of the conference it was determined that much remains to be done, and a Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted aimed at launching a global campaign to bring women into full and equal participation in all spheres of public and private life worldwide. The Platform addressed twelve critical areas of concern: poverty, education, health, violence, armed conflict, economic structures, power sharing and decision-making, mechanisms to promote the advancement of women, human rights, the media, the environment, and the girl child.
• The Greatness Which Might Be Theirs: Protection of Women's Rights
• The BIC distributed the statement The Role of Religion in Promoting the Advancement of Women. The Bahá'í International Community and and the parallel Non-Governmental Organization Forum,
• In year 2000, the follow-up documant for the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action entitled Beijing +5 Political Declaration and Outcome which reviewed progress towards the Platform for Action five years after its adoption.
• See UN Women.

A brief entitled The Future of Canada: A Bahá'í Perspective was presented to The Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects of Canada on behalf of the Canadian Bahá'í Community through the National Spiritual Assembly in Saskatoon. [The Future of Canada: A Bahá'í Perspective]
• Photographs in this publication were contributed by Elizabeth Martin. [HNWE44]