Nearness to God depends not on sex but on the luminosity of the heart; he or she with the greatest faith, these are near to God. Women must try then to attain greater perfection to be man's equal in the world, to make such progress that men will be forced to own them as their equals in every respect. In Europe women have made greater progress than in the East, though they are not yet physically as far advanced as men. It is my hope that they may progress rapidly until humanity will be perfected.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Discourses given by ‘Abdu’l-Baha in London and Paris’; Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 2, April 9, 1912)