Often in history women have been the pride of humanity --
for example, Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was the glory of mankind. Mary
Magdalene, Asiyih, daughter of Pharaoh, Sarah, wife of Abraham, and innumerable
others have glorified the human race by their excellences. In this day there
are women among the Bahá'ís who far outshine men. They are wise, talented,
well-informed, progressive, most intelligent and the light of men. They surpass
men in courage. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a talk, 9 June 1912; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks
Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in
1912’)
