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Q: Does the Baha’i Faith’s teaching on the equality of men and women mean that women should be members of the Universal House of Justice?
By Daniel Pschaida | FāVS News Columnist
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News.
The Bahá’í Faith teaches that in God’s sight women and men have always been and will always be equal. The Bahá’í Writings proclaim the equal value and worth of women and men and also speak of women participating and contributing in new and significant ways in every sphere of human endeavor.
Hence, it is indeed surprising that the highest body of Bahá’í leadership — the Universal House of Justice — is restricted to men.
An unanswered question at the heart of the faith
With this apparent contradiction, many Bahá’ís have speculated why this is so, and some of what has been speculated can be found on other forums and message boards on the Web. The official reason for the Universal House of Justice being restricted to men has not been explained, yet it has been promised to be “clear as the noon-day sun” in the future. This future moment has not arrived yet, as we are not yet sure of the explanation.
I trust that the reason is for factors other than a contradiction of the foundational Bahá’í principle of the equality of women and men, since women are indeed leaders in every other sphere of Bahá’í leadership. Women are leaders on the Bahá’í city councils or boards, called Local Spiritual Assembly, of which seven of the nine elected members this year (April 2025 to April 2026) happen to be women in Spokane where I live.
They are also members of the Regional Bahá’í Council, of which six of the elected nine members this year (2026) for the Northwest of the United States happen to be women. They are also members of the National Spiritual Assemblies, and in this year (April 2025 to April 2026) five of the nine elected members of the one for the United States happen to be women.
In addition, women serve in appointed individual advisory roles to Bahá’í assemblies and individuals within what is called the Institution of the Learned: Auxiliary Board Members, Continental Counselors and International Counsellors.
The International Counsellors constitute the International Teaching Center very closely in Haifa, Israel, working as the closest advisory board to the Universal House of Justice in governing the global Bahá’í community, and — according to this website — five of its nine members currently are women.
We should also note that for Bahá’ís, leadership is not about power and massaging our own egos but service to humanity and one of many ways to worship God.
Leadership as service, not power
In marriage, neither the husband nor wife are allowed to take a dictatorial position; rather, they are called to make decisions for their lives and family through loving, frank consultation, striving to together discern God’s will and the spiritual principles involved. If they cannot reach consensus, a wife should at times defer to her husband and at other times a husband should defer to his wife in an equitable manner.
In summary, Bahá’ís believe women and men are equal, and they both participate and serve humanity in every arena or institution of Bahá’í leadership, except the body of the Universal House of Justice itself, and the reasons for this will become clear in the future.
Here are two of the official statements on this issue:
https://bahai-library.com/uhj_women_uhj
https://bahai-library.com/uhj_confinement_membership_uhj
During its short history of less than 200 years, on several separate time periods in 1910s and 1920s, the Bahá’í Faith had a woman, Bahíyyih Khánum (the daughter of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Faith) as its acting leader residing in Haifa, Israel ( Palestine at that time). The capacity and ability of the women to lead is not the issue. The reason, unknown for now, is outside the principle of the equality of women and men.
As a woman, I in no way consider myself “banned” from being on the UHJ. Rather I feel I am excused from this obligation. I am not concerned with the “Why?” but have enough to do to keep myself active and obedient in the ways I need to..