ost advisable. (2) He likes to receive
regular and detailed reports of the position of the Cause as well as the
activities of the friends in India drafted as well as sent by the
Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. So as to be informed of the
conditions there and administer to your needs. (3) He wishes to have the
postal as well as telegraphic address of the secretary so as to send his
communications to him.

Shoghi Effendi earnestly hopes and prays that this National Spiritual
Assembly will be able to achieve a great deal and herald a new era of
spiritual awakening in that land.

April 26, 1923

Position of Baha'i Women

[From the Guardian:]

Regarding the position of the Baha'i women in India and Burma, and their
future collaboration with the men in the administrative work of the Cause,
I feel that the time is now ripe that those women who have already
conformed to the prevailing custom in India and Burma by discarding the
veil should not only be given the right to vote for the election of their
local and national representatives, but should themselves be eligible to
the membership of all Baha'i Assemblies throughout India and Burma, be
they local or national.

This definite and most important step, however, should be taken with the
greatest care and caution, prudence and thoughtfulness. Due regard must be
paid to their actual capacity and present attainments, and only those who
are best qualified for membership, be they men or women, and irrespective
of social standing, should be elected to the extremely responsible
position of a member of the Baha'i Assembly.

This momentous decision, I trust, will prove to be a great incentive to
the women Baha'is throughout India and Burma who, I hope, will now bestir
themselves and endeavour to the best of their ability to acquire a better
and more profound knowledge of the Cause, to take a more active and
systematic part in the general affairs of the Movement, and prove
themselves in every way enlightened, responsible and efficient co-workers
to their fellow-men in their common task for the advancement of the Cause
throughout their country.

May they fully realise their high responsibilities in this day, may they
do all in their power to justify the high hopes we cherish for their
future, and may they prove themselves in every respect worthy of the noble
mission which the Baha'i world is now entrusting to their charge.

December 27, 1923

The