BIC NEW YORK — In its contribution to discussions at the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the Bahá’í International Community’s (BIC) delegation highlighted how local consultative spaces are enabling communities to foster a culture of peace rooted in the principle of the equality of women and men.

This year’s Commission coincided with the 30th anniversary of the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action conference, providing a significant opportunity to assess progress and discuss paths forward.

Throughout the CSW sessions, BIC representatives emphasized that achieving the equality of women and men requires transformation at multiple levels, from individual consciousness and family dynamics to community practices and institutional arrangements.

The BIC’s statement to the Commission, titled “In full partnership: Women’s advancement as a prerequisite for peaceful societies,” highlighted how true equality requires a transformation that goes beyond policy reforms to address the spiritual and cultural roots of inequality.

“Unless we think about the mindsets and the culture within which we are all operating, then any change that we make is vulnerable to political winds,” noted Liliane Nkunzimana, a BIC Representative, during a roundtable discussion hosted by the BIC.

This perspective reflects the Bahá’í understanding that spiritual transformation must accompany social change. As Ms. Nkunzimana explained: “Equality is not only a goal, but a necessary condition for peace and prosperity.”

She elaborated that achieving enduring peace requires the full participation of women in all dimensions of society—from creating peaceful homes and neighborhoods to arranging economic institutions, being involved in educational processes, and negotiating peace.

This vision reflects a future, she added, “where every individual, irrespective of their sex, is able to flourish as a co-creator of society.”

Experiences from Bahá’í moral and spiritual educational programs in diverse settings provided examples of how this vision of equality and full participation is being translated into practice. Andrea Salguero, member of Canada’s Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs, stated: “These educational programs bring both women and men together with the aim of building a sense of community where people live.”

Ms. Salguero added: “In these spaces, where spiritual principles like the oneness of humanity and equality are studied, explored, and put into practice through service to society, we are seeing new patterns of relationships between men and women gradually emerge.”

These educational programs foster collective learning processes where cultural practices can be examined in light of spiritual principles. When communities engage in open and honest consultation about the equality of women and men, they often begin to question those longstanding customs acting as barriers to equality that may have gone unexamined for generations. It is through these conversations that communities come to recognize patterns that may not align with the principle of equality and begin to envision new possibilities.

At a BIC roundtable discussion with 70 participants, Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the BIC to the United Nations, highlighted how these consultative processes are catalyzing profound intergenerational shifts. When spiritual principles—including justice, oneness, and the equality of women and men—are explored at depth by people in a neighborhood or village, practices such as early marriage are reexamined in a new light.

Ms. Dugal stated: “As participants in communities around the world think and consult together, girls are being sent on to higher education, and practices such as early marriage are now being questioned by even the grandmothers, who themselves were married at very early ages.”

This represents not just a change in behavior, but a deeper transformation in how the potential of women and girls is understood within families.

While acknowledging the obstacles to women’s advancement globally, the BIC’s engagement at CSW reflected a perspective grounded in witnessing tangible development across diverse settings where Bahá’í community-building initiatives are taking root.

In closing the roundtable, Ms. Dugal, reflecting on the vision of the Bahá’í teachings of a better world, stated: “I am filled with a lot of hope and joy.

“I know there is a lot of conflict around the world, a lot of pain and suffering. However, I do see that we are connecting. And there is an awareness that was not there 30 years ago at the Beijing conference.”

Provided below are a few highlights from contributions of the BIC delegation to discussions at this year's Commission.

Carl Murrell (right), a representative of New York Office of the BIC, spoke at an event focused on the role of women in peacebuilding within the context of societies embroiled in armed conflict—one of the twelve critical areas of concern of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action.

In collaboration with the BIC and co-sponsored by the Government of Canada, the Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs of Canada held a parallel event exploring three decades of progress toward gender equality in Canada.

The BIC’s Offices in Geneva and New York co-hosted a discussion forum exploring how individuals and communities can work together to foster unity, resilience, and lasting transformation. Left to right: Felix Maradiaga, President of Fundación para la Libertad de Nicaragua; Azadeh Afsahi, founder of Iran House; Imane Karimou, UN Representative, Nonviolent Peaceforce; and Simin Fahandej, BIC Representative from the Geneva Office.

The Bahá’í Office of External Affairs of Australia, in collaboration with the New York Office of the Bahá’í International Community, hosted a parallel event at CSW, highlighting insights from community-building efforts in Australia and examining how the principle of the equality of women and men is transforming family relationships.

Liliane Nkunzimana, BIC representative from the New York Office, co-moderated a civil society briefing on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The forum explored ways to strengthen connections between mechanisms addressing violence against women and the broader work of the Commission.

Group photo of the BIC delegation to the Commission.