Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 2003-1, descending — sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
2003 17 - 19 Dec The Bahá'i´International Community, with UNICEF, UNESCO, and major international non-governmental organizations, co-sponsored a regional conference in India with the theme, Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy. An address was delivered by Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations. She noted that, according to UNICEF, 121 million children received little or no schooling of which 65 million of these were girls. The text of her speech can be found in the reference. [Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy] Bahá'í International Community; UNICEF; UNESCO; United Nations; Bani Dugal; - BIC statements; New Delhi, India; India
2003 16 Dec Shirin Ebadi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first Muslim woman to win the coveted distinction.
  • For a long time she has fought for the rights of women and children in Iran and it is most fitting that she, a woman lawyer who dared to speak out against the sexist Iranian regime, be praised and recognised by the world.
  • She was an author and also the founder of the Association for Support of Children's Rights in Iran. [Nobel Peace Prize 2003]
  • In 2002 she founded the Defender of Human Rights Center and in 2009 she was forced to flee into exile after briefly serving as legal counsel for the imprisoned Yaran. Mrs. Ebadi was threatened, intimidated, and vilified in the news media after taking on their case and was not given access to their case files. [BWNS694]
    		•  Shirin Ebadi; Nobel Peace Prize; Human Rights; Women; Firsts, other; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Iran first Muslim woman to be awarded Nobel Peace Prize
    2003 10 - 12 Dec The World Summit on the Information Society gave the Bahá'í International Community an opportunity to assemble a delegation of Internet and Communications Specialists out of which one chaired the Ethics and Values caucus. The event was devoted to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the Information and Communication Technologies. Some 54 heads of state, prime ministers, presidents, and vice presidents, along with 83 ministers, came to the WSIS, which drew official delegations from some 176 countries. Also attending were several thousand representatives of nongovernmental organizations, business groups, the media, and other organizations of civil society.
  • The Bahá'í International Community's delegation to the WSIS was Michael Quinn of the United States; Bahiyyih Chaffers, permanent representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the UN; Laina Raveendran Greene of Singapore; and Karanja Gakio of Botswana, one of the founders of Africa Online. [BWNS268]
    		•  United Nations; Bahá'í International Community; Michael Quinn; Bahiyyih Chaffers; Laina Raveendran Greene; Karanja Gakio; Geneva, Switzerland; Switzerland
    2003 26 Nov The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Ali Akbar Furútan in Haifa at the age of 98. [BWNS261, BW'03-'04pg227]
  • Born in Sabzivar, Iran, on 29 April 1905.
  • Moved with his family to Ashgabat in what was then Russian Turkestan (now part of Turkmenistan), and, through his years of school and university, he took an active part in the work of the Bahá'í communities of Ashgabat, Baku, Moscow, and other parts of Russia.
  • In 1930 he was expelled from the Soviet Union during the Stalinist persecution of religion and from that time on played an ever more significant role in the work and administration of the Iranian Bahá'í community. [BW03-04p227-230]
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
  • For a tribute from the Universal House of Justice see message of 27 November, 2003.
    		• - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; `Alí-Akbar Furútan; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Haifa, Israel; Sabzivar; Iran; Ashgabat; Turkmenistan; Bandar Anzali, Iran; Moscow, Russia

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