Promoting the entry of greater numbers of women into positions of prominence and authority is a necessary but not sufficient step in creating a just social order. Without fundamental changes in the attitudes and values of individuals and in the underlying ethos of social institutions, full equality between women and men cannot be achieved. A community based on partnership, a community in which aggression and the use of force are supplanted by cooperation and consultation, requires the transformation of the human heart. The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities both of body and mind. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with the feminine ideals . . .
Men have an inescapable duty to promote the equality of women.
The presumption of superiority by men thwarts the ambition of women and inhibits the creation of an environment in which equality may reign. The destructive effects of inequality prevent men from maturing and developing the qualities necessary to meet the challenges of the new millennium. Ultimately, Baha'u'llah promises, a day will come when men will welcome women in all aspects of life. Now is the time to move decisively toward that promised future. Talks delivered by 'Abdu'l-Baha during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912, comp.