A Quiet Whisper and a Groundswell of Support

By: Donna Hakimian

June 18, 2015

In the spring, Naw-Rúz is celebrated by Bahá’ís around the world, marking the start of a new year. This celebration coincides with the spring equinox. Every year at this time, I am reminded of my childhood and the beautiful fragrance of hyacinths, sweets, and a feeling of renewal. I so often idealize those days, days in which I was protected from so many of the violations of human rights that I hear about now.



While those days of my childhood feel like a lifetime ago, there are threads that tie them to the present. One of the most striking is the presence of women, who despite obstacles, such as the force of centuries of patriarchy and violence, have never lost their voice. They speak and are heard. Sometimes this voice changes policy and an entire consciousness of a society. At other times, the revolutionary act of speaking comes as a quiet whisper.

I have seen how quickly the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) can attempt to steal an individual’s voice. GBV is not only a violation of basic human rights, detrimental to the social cohesion of a community, and negatively impacts the economic prosperity of a family and society, but gender-based violence also has an insidious way of taking, dismantling, and throwing into question one’s basic sense of belonging in the world, one’s sense of order and feelings of worth. The added irony is that through the deep isolation of individual victims of violence, entire communities are impacted, whether we are aware of it or not.

The Bahá’í International Community’s statement to the 57th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women provides, in part: “Women and girls in territories throughout the world are enmeshed in a culture which enables and sustains violence against them. This affects not only women and girls; such violence is ultimately an act of aggression against society as a whole. It degrades victims, perpetrators, families and entire communities. 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.”

It is at once the recognition of the inherent value and dignity of each human life, combined with the development of effective systems of good governance, that safeguards the rights of individuals. In the case of the plague of gender-based violence, from which no region in the world is free, having appropriate social services as well as civil authorities trained to respectfully and effectively address such issues is key. It is, thus, individual hearts, minds, and spirits, as well as institutions, communities, families, and systems of governance that need to all come together and work in concert. One of these, applied alone, will not suffice in ending the epidemic of gender-based violence.

The Bahá’í Community of the United States works at the grassroots in hundreds of communities around the country to cultivate a community, which is grounded in the principles of the oneness of humankind, the equality of women and men, human rights, and stewardship for the planet we inhabit. There are activities for prayer and devotion, reflection on sacred texts, and classes for children and for young people.

In addition to these activities, and specifically in regard to addressing the presence of violence in the community, the national governing body of the Bahá’ís of the United States has written: “The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to convey a clear message that acts of domestic violence are at complete variance with the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and that violence in the family is a practice to be condemned. In addition, domestic violence is a criminal act in the United States. Such behaviors, on the part of either men or women, are rooted in longstanding social practices connected with an inability or unwillingness to apply the fundamental spiritual principle of the equality of women and men and to recognize the fundamental right of every human being to be treated with consideration and respect.”

In addition to facilitating workshops and discussions with representatives of civil society groups in Washington, DC, I have traveled around the country and worked in partnership with local Bahá’í communities and agencies at the United Nations to facilitate nearly 20 workshops and discussions on gender equality. This is a small step. I am always humbled by how far there is to go and how I must work hard to cultivate and develop coherence starting with my own understanding of gender equality. But, I believe that like the beauty of the hyacinths of spring, we can begin to shape a world characterized by harmony, peace, and justice.
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