Wendi’s Wanders

So it will come to pass that when women participate fully and equally in the affairs of the world, when they enter confidently and capably the great arena of laws and politics, war will cease; for woman will be the obstacle and hindrance to it. This is true and without doubt. Bahai writings

We can tell that women still do not `participate fully and equally in the affairs of the world’ because we still do not have universal peace. However, compared to the status of women in 1912 when `Abdu’l-Baha made this statement to a women’s suffrage meeting in New York, we are advancing along this trajectory. Witness the number of women now in government, business, the law, the professions, in contrast to the number a hundred years ago - not enough, certainly, but many more. Witness also the growth in the organisations that work for the advancement of women. equality and justice.

Last evening I attended the 40th anniversary of the establishment the independent advisory body set up under the Wilson government as the interface between the British government and women and women’s organisations: the Women’s National Commission (WNC). Over 450 organisations in the UK are partners, organisations concerned inter alia with the advancement of women, women’s rights, the education of women and girls, the role of women in peace and security, mothers, women workers, women scientists, family planning, grandparents, widows, housing, health, justice, trafficking, violence against women, families, women in politics and gender and equality issues in general, as well as faith communities, cultural organisations, professional associations and trades unions. The role of the WNC is to ensure that the views of women are taken into account by the government and are heard in public debate. Although paid for by the government, the WNC comments independently on government policy and advises the government. And, in my experience, actually listens to the people and organisations it represents and includes them in forming its policies and recommendations.

I was invited as a co-founder of Advance, a Baha’i-inspired organisation (follow us on Twitter: advancewomennow). One of the aims of Advance is to introduce the principles and concepts found in the Baha’i writings into the discourse on gender and equality issues being conducted by the Women’s National Commission and its partners. The statement made by Prime Minister Harold Wilson at the launch of the WNC in 1969 resonate with the Baha’i teachings: `Women’s experiences, capabilities and sensibilities enable them to contribute something additional, valuable and possibly different, to thought and discussion on public issues.’

The 40th anniversary celebration was held on the terraces of the House of Lords, so was quite a prestigious event and I was really honoured to be invited. Most of the people there were commissioners or former commissioners of the WNC, statesmen, politicians, lawyers, social activists, educators - women who have `entered confidently and capably the great arena of laws and politics’. They represented many cultures, backgrounds and religions, united in their dedication to making the world more equitable and just.

Chair Baroness Joyce Gould

outlined the evolution of the WNC and the issues it tackled, starting with a review of family law in the early 1970s, and moving on to equal pay legislation, tackling violence against women and female genital mutilation, issues concerning older women, and how to engage more women in public life. This last was of particular relevance to me, as it was through the efforts of the WNC that the government was persuaded to actively recruit more (and younger) women to positions such as non-executive director of health boards, one of which recruited me in 1990 (I am still serving on the successor board, NHS Bedfordshire).

Minister for Women and Equality, Harriet Harman,

spoke of the progress made and work still to be done in all these areas, particularly in this time of financial difficulty, when the temptation to backtrack on issues such as childcare for working women, equal pay and support for families is great.

It wasn’t all serious, though. Comedian Jo Brand

made us laugh at ourselves (`Feminists range from women in high heels and lipstick to those in overalls and Doc Martens. I’m the first but I look like the second.’)

And among the hundred or so people there were Carwen Wynne Howells, Federation President of Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland; Jonathan Rees, Director-General of the Government Equalities Office; members of UNIFEM NC UK - and two other Baha’is, Lois Hainsworth MBE, veteran activist for women’s rights; and Mieko, co-founder, with Zarin Hainsworth-Fadaei and me, of Advance.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Women’s National Commission, human rights, women’s rights, gender issues, equality of women and men, Baroness Gould of Pottenewton, Harriet Harman, Jo Brand, Advance, Soroptimist International, Jonathan Rees, Lois Hainsworth, Mieko Bond

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