Your letter of March 26th, 1971 asking for clarification of
the exclusion of women from membership in the Universal House of Justice in
view of the great principle of the Cause of the equality of men and women has
been received and we offer you the following comments.
In a Tablet to an early woman believer 'Abdu'l-Bahá stated:
'O maidservant of God! Know thou that in the sight of God,
the conduct of women is the same as that of men... From the spiritual point of
view ... there is no difference between women and men ....' He added, however:
'As to the House of Justice: according to the explicit text of the Law of God,
its membership is exclusively reserved to men. There is Divine wisdom in this
which will presently be made manifest even as the mid-day sun.'
The beloved Guardian in reply to the same query from a
believer pointed out in a letter written on his behalf on July 15th 1947:
'People must just accept the fact that women are not eligible to the
International House of Justice. As the Master says the wisdom of this will be
known in the future, we can only accept, believing it is right, but not able to
give an explanation calculated to silence an ardent feminist!’
We must have faith in the Supreme Manifestation of God and
His Exemplar, Whose prescience is revealed in such provisions which will one
day 'be made manifest even as the mid-day sun.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 26 May 1971 to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Lights
of Guidance’)