Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 260
! ! 260 Address to the Ladies at the Occasion of Jalsa Salana Delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashir - ud - D in Mahmud Ahmad Khalifat - ul - Masih II ra December 28, 1929 After the recitation of Tashah h ud and Surah Al - Fatihah , Haz rat Khalifa t - ul - Masih II ra stated: The Current State of Women’s Educational Abilities: Every year, I have drawn the attention of the women of our Jama‘ at to the fact that until they attain an education , their own relationship w ith God can never be satisfactory nor can they fulfill the obligations they owe to their relatives, family, nation, and country. Perhaps the words that I have just related weigh heavy upon you , for they imply that you are uneducated. Yet the fact is t hat you are not only unacquainted with other languages, but you are also unfamiliar with your own language and due to this , I have difficulty in delivering speeches to women. The Difficulties Faced During a Speech When giving a speech, I try not to use w ords that you cannot understand, even though I do not de liver this speech in a foreign language. When a nation is in such a pitiful state that it does not possess the ability to understand a spe ech in its own language, it is proof enough of its poor condition. A speech is delivered in everyday language. For example, if religion is being discussed, words such as Day of Judgment, destiny, etc. , are essential. Now if someone [listening] does not understand these terms , several difficulties a rise for the lecturer. He is left with only t wo options : e ither he uses simple words, concentrat ing on using easily understood language thus ruining his speech , o r he uses technical words in his speech which his audience fails to understand.