National News of the Baha'is of India

 Baha'i Office of Public Affairs

7 January 2013, New Delhi
We understand that the task before all of us is complex and requires a multi-pronged approach. Women and girls are enmeshed in a culture which enables and sustains violence against them. Such violence is ultimately an act of aggression against society as a whole. As such, the eradication of violence requires not only changes in law and policy, but more fundamental changes at the level of culture, attitudes and beliefs. Such changes must be grounded in the conviction that the equality of women and men is not only a goal to be achieved, but a truth about human nature to be acknowledged and embraced. The soul has no gender. The very essence of what make us human is neither ‘male’ nor ‘female.’ Conceived in this way, equality goes beyond a tally of resources or a set of social norms.  It reflects the nobility inherent in every human being.

1. Viewed in the broader context, violence and discrimination against women and girls is one of the symptoms of a social order characterized by conflict, injustice and insecurity. Its structures and processes prove themselves incapable of serving the common good. As we seek to eradicate violence against women and girls, we must not lose sight of the broader, long-term goal: namely the creation of conditions in which women and men can work shoulder to shoulder in constructing a more just and equitable social order.