BIC NEW YORK — The advancement of women, rooted in the spiritual principle of the equality of women and men, is not merely an aspiration but a necessary condition for peace, says the Bahá’í International Community in a statement released for the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

The statement, titled “In full partnership: Women’s advancement as a prerequisite for peaceful societies,” emphasizes that true equality requires a transformation that goes beyond policy reforms to address the spiritual and cultural roots of inequality. It comes as the international community marks 30 years since the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

Liliane Nkunzimana, a BIC representative from the New York Office, noted: “The 12 critical areas of concern articulated in Beijing were an important evolution in equality of women and men. However, many of these advances have been eroded by policy rollbacks and other forces, from the grassroots through to the international stage. This is a disturbing regression. And it should prompt us to identify more enduring approaches to transformation.”

The statement highlights a connection between the equality of women and men and peace, emphasizing that societies with higher levels of equality tend to experience lower levels of violent conflict, and that peace processes involving women tend to last longer. However, it stresses that true lasting change needs to go beyond institutional reforms to encompass transformation within individual mindsets and social norms.

“Until transformation takes root within mindsets and finds expression in culture, the underlying causes of prejudice and discrimination, embedded in the systems and structures of societies, will remain unquestioned and will continue to perpetuate injustice,” the statement reads.

To illustrate how such a transformation can unfold at the grassroots level, the statement shares experiences from Bihar, India, where Bahá’í educational programs fostered reflection on the principle that every individual, regardless of gender, is inherently noble. As local community members examined this and other Bahá’í principles—such as justice and the oneness of humanity—they began to recognize contradictions between their belief in equality and entrenched social practices that limited women’s opportunities in education and decision-making.

In response, the community created consultative spaces where families openly discussed these issues. Through honest conversations, guided by spiritual principles, participants explored how long-standing attitudes acted as barriers to women’s advancement—such as the belief that a daughter’s primary role was marriage, the perception of women as “unclean” during menstruation, or the assumption that it was unsafe for girls to travel long distances to school.

The discussions in Bihar shed light on how such views found expression in daily life: boys were often prioritized for schooling, financial resources were allocated to dowries rather than education, and women were excluded from leadership roles and decision-making spaces.

The process of social and spiritual discovery in Bihar led to concrete actions. Neighbors and friends began to work collectively to remove identified obstacles by creating new educational opportunities emphasizing the moral and intellectual development of every child, regardless of gender.

Many in that community have observed how the application of spiritual principles to different spheres of life can lead to the evolution of a new culture—one that increasingly reflects the truth of equality in both belief and practice. These efforts have fostered greater mutual respect and trust between men and women, extending from homes to the broader community—offering glimpses of how sustainable societal change can take root.

As part of its ongoing efforts to contribute to the discourse on the equality of women and men, the BIC will participate in the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which begins next week at the UN headquarters in New York. The BIC statement can be viewed here.