- 1923-04-25 —
Martha Root left Osaka for northern China. [PH31; [Film Early History of the Baha'í Faith in China 11 min 35 sec and 15 min 40 sec]
- It was her second visit to China and lasted until March 1924. [PH31-2]
- In June she was joined by Ida Finch. After an earthquake hit Japan she was joined by Agnes Alexander. On the 4th of November they held the first Feast in Beijing.
- 1923-11-04 —
The first recorded Bahá'í Feast in China was held in Beijing. [PH33]
- Martha Root and Agnes Alexander were present. [PH33]
- 1931-00-01 —
The first Chinese translation of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was published. [PH36]
- The translation was made by Dr Tsao Yun-siang, President of the Xinhua University in Beijing. [PH36]
- 1995-08-30 —
Some 400-500 Bahá'í women and men from more than 50 countries around the world participated in the NGO Forum on Women at the Fourth United Nations International Conference on Women held in the resort city of Huairou some 50 kilometers north of Beijing.
- See One Country Vol 7 Issue 2 for profiles of some of the attendees.
- Bahá'í perspectives on equality were also shared with both Conference and Forum participants through distribution of The Greatness Which Might Be Theirs , a collection of Bahá'í International Community statements and essays by Bahá'ís reflecting on the Agenda and Platform for Action. The booklet's title is drawn from the words of `Abdu'l-Bahá: "As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibility, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs."
- See Towards the Goal of Full Partnership: One Hundred and Fifty Years of the Advancement of Women by Ann Boyles written in anticipation of the conference. It is a survey of the Bahá'í community's efforts to understand and practice the principle of equality between men and women. [BW93-94p237-275]
- 1995-09-04 —
Fourth World Conference on Women was held at the Beijing International Conference Centre. It was one of the largest international meetings ever convened under United Nations auspices, some 17,000 people were registered including 5,000 delegates from 189 states and the European Union, 4,000 NGO representatives, and more than 3,200 members of the media. [BW95-96p151-158]
- See Equality, Development, and Peace: Baha'is and the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and NGO Forum. [BW95-96p145-158]
- The conference was called by the United Nations to review progress made toward implementation of the "Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women" adopted at the Third World Conference in Nairobi in 1985.
- Seven Bahá'í delegations were accredited to the conference: the Bahá'í International Community, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, the Bahá'í community of the Netherlands, the Bahá'í community of Canada, l' Association Bahá'íe de Femmes (France), l' Association médicale Bahá'íe (France), and the National Bahá'í Office for the Advancement of Women (Nigeria).
- By the end of the conference it was determined that much remains to be done, and a Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted aimed at launching a global campaign to bring women into full and equal participation in all spheres of public and private life worldwide. The Platform addressed twelve critical areas of concern: poverty, education, health, violence, armed conflict, economic structures, power sharing and decision-making, mechanisms to promote the advancement of women, human rights, the media, the environment, and the girl child.
- The Greatness Which Might Be Theirs: Protection of Women's Rights
- The BIC distributed the statement The Role of Religion in Promoting the Advancement of Women.
The Bahá'í International Community and
and the parallel Non-Governmental Organization Forum,
- In year 2000, the follow-up documant for the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action entitled Beijing +5 Political Declaration and Outcome which reviewed progress towards the Platform for Action five years after its adoption.
- See UN Women.
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