advancement of women as a religious duty

[smkolins]

The Baha'i Faith has a long history on the issue of the advancement of women as part of the overall topic of the fundamental equality of women and men.

Here's a book covering recent work of the Baha'i Community through the UN efforts at CEDAW:

"The handbook, which outlines the importance of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, was co-authored by Leila Rassekh Milani, a spokesperson for women's issues for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.

A coalition of some 190 US non-governmental organizations (NGOs) recently launched the book at the US senate.

For more than a decade, a representative of the US National Spiritual Assembly has co-chaired the coalition, which is known as the Working Group on Ratification of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women).

The convention is an international "Bill of Rights" for women. It addresses the political, cultural, economic, and social dimensions of human rights for women around the world.

The United States was active in drafting the convention and was one of the first nations to sign it. However, the United States is the only industrialized nation that has failed to ratify the treaty, lacking the necessary votes in the US Senate...." Here

A downloadable version of the handbook is at womenstreaty.org