Even though there have been outstanding women such as Sarah,
Ásíyih, the Virgin Mary, Fátimih, Táhirih and the Greatest Holy Leaf in every
Dispensation, it is an incontrovertible fact that all Manifestations of God
known to us have been men. Moreover, it is a clear provision in Bahá’í
administration that the Guardians were to be men and that membership on the
Universal House of Justice is confined to men. Whether these facts point to a
differentiation in function that is unalterable, or whether it was merely a
characteristic of a period which will change when mankind attains its maturity
is a matter that will, no doubt, become clear in the future. The important
point for Bahá’ís to remember is that, in face of the categorical
pronouncements in Bahá’í Scripture establishing the equality of men and women,
even these facts are no evidence at all of the superiority of the male over the
female sex. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained that equality does not mean identity of
function. He has also stated that the few areas in which men and women are not
equal are "negligible"
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter
dated 27 October 1986, written on behalf of the Universal House of justice to
an individual believer; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice
1986-2001’)
