Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 221
! ! 221 make mistakes. Therefore, why are you afraid?” She was displeased , but I still did not edit her speech. My thinking was that helping women in this way makes them cowardly. The only way w omen will successfully work, is if they work with strength and courage. It was the greatest lesson that Ha z rat Khalifat - ul - Masih I , Hak ee m Maulana Nur - ud - Din ra taught me when studying with him. Whenever I would ask him a question , he would say, “ Mian [a term of endearment] , carry on reading. When you go home , reflect upon this question for yourself. ” Hence, h e would not let me ask any questions. Hafiz Roshan Ali had a habit of asking questions and while he would answer them, he would not answer m y questions. Sometimes , when I would ask a question, he would look at Hafiz Sahib displeasingly, saying, “You have developed in him a habit of asking q uestions as well. ” Women accuse us of not educating them and use this excuse for why they are behind in learning. I ask them , “ W ho educated us ? ” God did not collect all the knowledge [in the world] and reveal it to men , who in turn kept all of it for themselves and refused to share it with women. Men worked hard to learn , and they succeeded ; you must make the effort to learn as well. The fact of the matter is that a lthough men did have advantages , women have even more advantage s because men are willing to teach them. However, it is necessary for women to strive with courage. They should write articles and speeches. The worst that will happen is that a few people will laugh at their mistakes when reading their articles or listening to their speeches. However, the majority will appreciate their efforts and res pect them. This is the best advice I can give to Lajna members. Besides this, I also w ish to instruct the Lajna to increase their membership. The Lajna has not yet done anything about it. It is not necessary that only educated women become members. R ather, anyone who speaks and listen s in a dignified manner, even if she cannot read a word, should become a member. T he best work is d one through cooperation, thus other wome n should be included in Lajna. Today, if the Lajna membership numbered fifty or sixty, they would all have been affected favorably in so many ways.