The equality of men and women, as ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá has often explained, is a fundamental principle of Bahá’u’lláh;
therefore the Laws of the Aqdas should be studied in the light of this.
Equality between men and women does not, indeed physiologically it cannot, mean
identity of function. In some things women excel men, in others men are better
than women, while in very many things the difference in sex is of no effect at
all. The differences are most apparent in family life. The capacity for
motherhood has many far-reaching effects. For example, because of this,
daughters receive preference in education over sons. Again, for physiological
reasons, women are granted exemptions from fasting that are not applied to men.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated April 28, 1974 to an
individual believer; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
