Posted by Nick Stone on June 11, 2101 at 11:40:07:

In Reply to: Re: Chastity posted by Mike on June 11, 2101 at 08:37:46:

Hi Mike,

I guess you could say that although men and women are equal in God's sight, "equal" does not equate to "same." We look pretty different for a start. Men and women were created to complement each other, just as in a football team you don't have 10 forwards or 10 defenders. We're supposed to have different qualities. Not all men possess all "masculine" qualities, and not all women solely possess "feminine" qualities. It is interesting in my opinion that the Baha'i Faith differentiates between contemporary aims in feminism which are to get women into power for example. Notwithstanding that the Baha'i Faith offers a different perspective on power, its teachings sugges that the current emphasis actually is on making women more masculine, rather than making men more feminine and encouraging women to be more feminine rather than shedding their feminity and becoming "male" (Margaret Thatcher being a case in point.) Society celebrates when women acquire these "masculine" traits and so societies problems continue.

With regard to chastity and purity, I don't know to what extent these "feminine" qualities have been characterised as being feminine by society and to what extent God intended women to be that way. In today's world it does seem that it is men who are either less chaste or unable to control themselves rather than women.

Anyway, sorry, am beginning to ramble again.

Best wishes,

Nick

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