Full Partnership: An International Conference on the Equality of Women and Men
Sep. 15 – Sep. 17, 1989
14th Annual Conference, Irvine Hilton, Irvine, CA
Attendance: 800
Opening Remarks
Dr. Dorothy Nelson
Honorable Judge
This recording opens with the reading of a letter of greeting from the Mayor of Irvine, California addressed to the attendees of the ABS Conference. The official title of this year’s conference is “Full Partnership an International Conference on the Equality of Women and Men.” Judge Dorothy Nelson, Chair of the NSA of the USA is then introduced. Judge Nelson praises the conference planners for bringing together “unmatched” talents. She recalls the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 in which thousands were killed in India.
Equal Partnership Between Women and Men
Judge Nelson introduces Ms. Eisler was born in Vienna and escaped from the Nazis. At 14 she came to America and completed a law degree. In 1967 she became an active feminist; founded the “Women’s Law Center”, wrote and produced feminist plays, and authored two books, including a handbook on the equal rights of men and women. Her next book, “The Chalice and the Blade”, which explores the partnership relationship between women and men. Ms. Eisler says whenever she encounters Bahá’í gatherings it’s like coming home. She said her work and the theme of this conference are the same.
Searching the Words
Bahiyyih Nakhjavani begins her talk with the last words of Tahirih, "You can kill me as soon as you want, but you cannot stop the emancipation of women." Baha'u'llah addresses His documents to the human soul, rather than men or women. Equality is connected to the principles of independent investigation, the progressive nature of truth and the excursive of free will. She discusses the need for distinction between generalities and universal, diversity and uniformity. Ms.
Early Black Women in the Professions
Mrs. Gwen Lewis thanked to all people who helped on her research. She spoke about the sufferings and hopes of black women. She said, "The inquality of women is not of women only; it is problem, it is an issue that is cuts across all cultures". She cited some statistics from US Department of Labor; in 1980 families headed by black women are the poorest in America with poverty rates tripled that of other families. Women earn 10% of the world income and yet own only 1% of the world's property. In the USA in 1983, 2 out of 3 older American women were living in poverty.
The Baha’i Principle of Complementarianism
Dr. John Hatcher begins with the distinction between the Bahá'í view of the equality of men and women, and the view held by the non- Bahá'ís. Bahá'u'lláh states that the purpose of religion is to raise human conciousness to the realities of the spiritual world. Bahá'u'lláh further tells us that the equality of men and women has always been a reality in the sight of God. Society is now ready to accept this reality. Dr. Hatcher uses the Bahá'í views of the different roles of mother and father in raising and training children, toward the advancement of society.
Evolution, Equality and Wholeness
In this talk, Hossain Denesh begins by taking the word "blame" out of the equation. He points to four major issues: What is the challenge? Where do we come from? Where are we going? What are the practical steps we take? The challenge is to achieve equality for women and this has not been met. Mr.
Reaching Toward Equality in a Small Community
Ms. Leblanc begins by stating that peace in the world will come from equality and this will lead to a more mature civilization. The Bahá'í community must be in the forefront of this movement and courage to face the challenge is the first step. She uses a story told by Inuits in the Yukon to emphasize the spirit of oneness that comes from sacrifice and listening to the heart. Ms. Leblanc quotes from The Bahá'í Sacred Writings and uses the example of the stages of growth of the tree, to emphasize the need for partnership of men and women.
What About Divorce as Related to Equality and the Institution of Marriage?
The panel discussed various aspects of the subject of marriage. These included the issue of marriage as it relates to the family as a whole. The United Nations has conducted a review various types of family around the world with a focus on the issues of integration and development. These family groups included interracial families, extended families, gay and straight families and so on. We need to know and understand what the experience of Bahá’í communities might be able to contribute to the understanding of family development.
Using Cognitive Therapy Toward the Definition of Full Partnership in Marriage
Dr. Hoda Mahmoudi explains how cognitive therapy helps individuals to evaluate their perception of their environment. It promotes a number of Baha’i principles such as consultation, equality between man and woman, equality in marriage, and one’s responsibilities and commitments to life. This field promotes the concept that one’s history in life bears a genetic component to his/her perception. Citing a number of examples, she explains how people, in various settings, could overcome misunderstandings, including those bearing cultural differences.
Five Steps in Positive Family Therapy and How They Operate In Family & Marriage
Dr. Pesceschkian is a psychiatrist specializing in both psychiatry and neurology. He was born in Iran but has lived in West Germany since 1954. He is known as the founder of “positive-family-psychotherapy” based on a trans-cultural approach. He focuses on the relationship between culture and disease and has focused on 18 different cultural groups. He has developed his new approach over the past 18 years. He discusses the relationship of the left and right sides of the brain to the topics of science and religion. His aim is to try to understand how these two compliment each other.
Does a New Race of Men Begin With a New Generation of Parents as Educators
Dr. Watson emphasizes the importance of early childhood learning and its effect on brain development. “Later [learning] than early [learning] is too late.” Connections are made between intellectual growth and the lack of enriching experiences during infancy. It is during the earliest period of a child’s life that the greatest learning is possible. For example, a young child can easily learning two or three languages while an adult would find such a task daunting.
Theme Workshop for Men
Gordon Naylor opens the workshop by stating that discussions of equality do not place enough emphasis on how to bring about change. The cause of prejudice is blind imitation of the past and we need to replace this with a conciousness of what needs to be corrected. The Guardian gives us four qualities needed to eliminate prejudice and bring about equality. These are courage, persistence, kindliness and wisdom. In the area of communication, women must learn to speak out and men need to listen. This will lead to a full partnership.
Theme Workshop - Mixed Audience
The focus is on the equality of women with men. Multiple voices in group discussion.
The Responsibility of Men in Achieving Equality between the sexes
Mr. Coe begins by reciting some of his personal Bahá’í and marriage history. He explains how the counseling he received enabled him to create a space for the women in his life. He then recounts intensely personal information about his recovery and details of what others were able now to share with him. He talks about his 13 year old and 4 year old children and their development. Places a special emphasis on female literacy. He described how his 22 month old daughter learned to read in eight months.
Sexuality and Equality
Dr. Hossain Danesh talked about his personal thoughts on the complexity of sexual relationships and how they are related to other psychic forces such as love, equality, kindness and respect. Both aggression and violation are in opposition to a healthy love relationship. Love is conditional in these days. If man intends to use power to dominate his partner that creates a competitive and hateful relationship; love cannot exist between them.
The Local Spiritual Assembly and Equality
The speaker asserts that the primary responsibility of the Local Spiritual assembly is establishing unity. This requires upholding the laws of The Faith and equality is included here. Assembly members must constantly deepen themselves in The Writings, to meet these mandates. She goes on to say that The Assembly must listen to community members and respond, even if this may bring about conflict. The Assembly's agenda should include room for discussing the education of children and budgeting equal resources for bringing about the equality of women.
Motherhood: Primary But Not Exclusive Role
Ms. Haslip describes the negative effect that drugs, alcohol and promiscuity are having upon society. She discusses the feminist movement and its impact on the role of motherhood. She strongly advises the audience to get a copy of the booklet “Women” compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. This booklet focuses on the role of women as “mothers-to-be”. She recites quotations from this booklet. The interwoven roles of motherhood and homemaking must be adopted and husbands need to support their wives in these roles.