About
About the Film
The film, “Glimpses into the Spirit of Gender Equality”, touches on the lives of individuals from diverse communities around the world, including Colombia, India, Malaysia, the United States, and Zambia and their experiences in applying the principle of gender equality to their lives, contributing to the goals articulated in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
The aim of the Bahá’í International Community (BIC) in creating this film is to showcase the spirit of diverse initiatives that have steadily contributed to cultural transformation at the local level in creating more equitable societies. It seeks to instill a sense of hope and optimism as the international community reflects on the advances made since the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and to reinvigorate commitment to action in realizing the vital requirement of gender equality.
Featured Communities
Riohacha, Colombia
"Wayuu women learn to weave at an early age and the industry is central to the local economy. But in recent years, horizons have been expanding for girls as growing numbers—including men in the community—have begun giving thoughtful attention to the values that should shape relations between the sexes."
Hasankheda, India
"The process under way, Reena says, is not so much about rejecting what has come before. Rather, it is about creating new options for women and girls—options to be internalized by women and men, young and old alike. “The most outstanding feature you see nowadays is that women are more conscious about the education of their children, especially girls,” she says.
Kejau, Malaysia
Women are coming to understand that they can go far and have much to contribute to the environment they are living in,” says Goh Siew Chuan, an accountant from another village in the country participating in a course on improving family life. “Men are seeing women’s growing capacity as a strength and an advantage, not as a threat to their traditional roles.” Her husband, Tee Yuu Hock, agrees. “Both are realizing the importance of the role that women can and will play in society, going forward.”
New York, United States
“We recently became parents, so that really brought in a whole new element of what housework looks like if you're striving for gender equality,” says Kimia, an artist in the city. “What income looks like. What childcare looks like.” “The biggest barrier remains the expectation of what equality really means,” adds Kenny, her husband. “How do we as a couple, and as a family, address that expectation?” For some, reconceptualizing what it means to be a man or a woman in a North American society is a key priority.
Mwinilunga, Zambia
Changing perceptions of the capacity and contributions of adolescents—girls in particular—are impacting norms in areas ranging from education, to marriage, to choices about relationships.
“Often our girls would cut short their education to get married or because they were pregnant at an early age,” explains Josphine, a mother of junior youth participating in a spiritual and moral empowerment program. “But now the girls themselves are able to say no to negative forces. There are fewer early pregnancies, and the girls can complete their education. Now we see girls at the forefront, even outranking the boys in their performance.”
With junior youth and the older teens and young adults that often work with them leading the way, views and norms are transforming across the community. “Men used to have all the say in family decisions,” says Emeldah, another mother of junior youth in the community. “But now these roles are not so strict. Now the woman is free to share her ideas in the house, and the husband is able to listen and learn from the wife.”
Baha'i International Community's Engagement at the United Nations
Since the earliest days of the United Nations, the Bahá’í International Community (BIC) has been deeply involved in promoting the equality of women and men—as a reflection of one of the central principles of the Bahá’í Faith and the efforts of the worldwide Bahá’í community as a whole.
Through collaboration with the United Nations community, the BIC has sought to contribute the perspectives and experiences of the worldwide Bahá’í community to the discourse on gender equality. The BIC has supported efforts to protect the rights and promote the well-being of women and girls and has worked closely with the UN and civil society to create more effective and coherent gender equality mechanisms. Recognizing the role that all must play in the creation of a more just society, the BIC strives to bring the voices of civil society to bear on these discussions and debates at the UN.
Bahá’ís believe that the equality of women and men is a facet of human reality and not just a condition to be achieved for the common good. That which makes human beings human—their inherent dignity and nobility—is neither male nor female. The search for meaning, for purpose, for community; the capacity to love, to create, to persevere, has no gender. This has profound implications for the organization of every aspect of human society.
In localities across the world, Bahá’ís are endeavoring to establish patterns of community life and put in place institutional structures that reflect the belief in the fundamental equality of women and men.