Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 151
151 as a woman] or a woman with ill intentions may enter, and proper surveillan ce cannot be done. It is for this reason that [the women] said, “ We give up our right on our own. ” Because my throat was also sore and I have a cold as well, I took this as a divine opportunity and happily accepted it, [saying] , “ Very well, if you are voluntarily giving up your right , then what objection can I hav e. ” However, they also expressed their desire that , I say a few things directed toward the women [specifically] during th e speech on the men’s side so they can listen to it through t he lou d speaker. As promised, I will give a few minutes of my speech in addressing the women directly. The N eed to Pay Attention t o Tabligh First of all , I will remind them of my speech from last year [where] I had urged them to take a more active part in religion and to concentrate on t abligh, b ut those very female organizers who have asked me to address the wom en today from the men’s stage , I tell them that firstly, it is they who have evaded their educational responsibilities. I had suggested to them that [non - Ahmadi] women are being carried away with the wave s of freedom, and new ambitions ar e taking root in their hearts. Because of this, t abligh among them is far more expans ive than among the [non - Ahmadi] men. This is b ecause at this time , [non - A hmadi] men are intoxicated with political power and are movi ng f u rther away from religion. Therefore, according to my instructions, groups of women [from] Rabwah were sent to various districts and women’s meetings were convened, where the women [from Rabwah] distributed literature and gave speeches. Now, it was necessary that in 1951 th ese Tabligh efforts should have been expanded. However , to my knowledge there was no attempt made to revisit the districts which they had previously visited , and the idea of [visiting] new districts is out of the question. Hence , first I tell the women y ou have ask ed for your right to be addressed from the men’s stage, so according to [ that right] I say to you to pay attention to your responsibilities and shun this laziness. Construction of Lajna Ima’illah Office So far what I have said has been according to my wishes , but the desire the [ Lajna organizers] have expressed is that I let women know that the office of Lajna Ima’illah has been completed [and so] they should pay