Women’s status in society is directly linked with how secure a nation-state is, Valerie Hudson of Texas A&M University affirmed in presenting the inaugural Bahá’í Chair for World Peace Annual Lecture. Her research shows that if women are less secure in a given state, their insecurity weakens state security.

An audience of more than 200 from across the globe heard Hudson, professor and George H.W. Bush Chair in the Bush School of Government, speak on “The First Political Order: Sex, Governance and National Security.” The lecture was part of a series sponsored by the Bahá’í Chair at the University of Maryland that focuses on the empowerment of women in peace.

Hudson explores male-female relations and the numerous societal injuries and disadvantages that are significantly associated with the oppression of women. In her lecture, she said that on the international level, studies have shown that “women’s situation is significantly linked to propensity to be involved in intra- and inter-state conflict, to use violence first in such a conflict, and to break treaty obligations and [violate] international norms.”

On the individual level, Hudson explained, “studies that look at individual attitudes and preferences find that individuals with more highly gender unequal beliefs are significantly more hostile to other nationalities and minority groups in their own country.”

“How you treat the first other whom you live with, whom you have children with, how you structure that relationship is going to color everything else in your society,” she noted.

The lecture concluded with a quote from The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912:

“The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. Until womankind reaches the same degree as man, until she enjoys the same arena of activity, extraordinary attainment for humanity will not be realized; humanity cannot wing its way to heights of real attainment.”

Insecurities and conflict afflict countries that continue to foster these ideals, Hudson acknowledged. But if we choose to support the livelihood of women and equality between the sexes all over the world, we have the ability to make valuable strides toward peace.

Bahá'í Chair professor Hoda Mahmoudi followed by remarking that Hudson’s research, “which correlates women’s inequality with increased conflict and insecurity for the nation-states, brings to mind ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s statement that ‘equality between men and women is conducive to the abolition of warfare for the reason that women will never be willing to sanction it.’”