The following are the five delegates elected from Northern Ireland to the UK Bahå'í National Convention in 2003: Arjang Agahi, Patricia Irvine, Iain Palin, Soheil Roohipour, Eddie Whiteside.
Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary) of first exponent of women's equality
On Thursday 10th October, in Omagh Library, Omagh Bahá'í Community with assistance from nearby communities commemorated the martyrdom of poet and a promoter of women's rights, Tahírih". When she was put to death in 1852, she is reputed to have said to her executioners, "you can kill me, but you will never prevent the emancipation of women.
The evening was introduced by Mrs. Hazel Holmlund, from Ballymena who gave a brief résumé of Tahírih's life. Two of Tahírih's poems were read by Lady Rosemary Salisbury and Mr Eric Bullick, respectively Principals of Drumragh Integrated College and Omagh Integrated Primary School.
A dramatic dialogue-between Jim Holmlund (Ballymena) and Judith George (Coleraine)-was performed and live music was provided by Bahá'í youth. The chairman of the meeting, Rustam Jamshídi, closed the programme by stressing the importance of gender equality and its wider implications, beyond mere matters of justice and fairness. He said that: only as women are welcomed into full partnership, in all fields of human endeavour, will the moral and psychological climate be created in which international peace can emerge.
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