Rúhangíz Fath-‘Azam
Rúhangíz Fath-‘Azam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1898 Ardistán, Iran |
| Died | September 27, 1978 Tehran, Iran |
Rúhangíz Fath-‘Azam (1898 - September 27, 1978) was a Persian Bahá’í who was instrumental to early efforts by the Bahá’í community to provide women's education and she later pioneered to Capri in Italy.
Biography[edit]
Rúhangíz was born in Ardistán into a Bahá’í family. Her father was Áqá Siyyid Shahab who was the son of Mírzá Fath-‘Alí who was granted the title Fath-‘Azam by Bahá’u’lláh and her mother was the daughter of Mullá ‘Alí-Akbar Ardistání who became a Bábí in Shíraz in the 1840's.[1] In approximately 1905 the family moved to Tehran due to persecution of the Bahá’í community of Ardistán.[2]
Rúhangíz received an education in Tehran and began working for the Ministry of Education at a girls school while still a teenager and when the Tarbiyat Girls School was established by the Bahá’í community of Tehran she became a teacher and administrator of the school. In the 1930's the Iranian government had all Bahá’í schools shut down and Rúhangíz found employment at the National Bank of Iran. After women were permitted to serve on Local Spiritual Assemblies in the East in 1954 she served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tehran.[1]
In 1965 Rúhangíz pioneered to the island of Capri in Italy opening it to the Faith to meet a goal of the Nine Year Plan.[1] She did not speak Italian when she arrived and found it difficult to make connections but she began studying the language and met a family who offered her Italian lessons in exchange for her tutoring their daughter in English and she also attended Italian classes at a school run by nuns. In 1972 a Local Spiritual Assembly was established on Capri due to her efforts and holding firesides.[3]
In April 1975 Rúhangíz suffered a stroke and was left paralyzed and unable to speak for a time. She was reluctant to leave Capri as she was concerned the Local Spiritual Assembly would lapse due to the community only having nine members but she was reassured when another person declared and returned to Tehran with her family where she passed away in 1978.[4]
The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after her passing:
DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING DEVOTED HANDMAID DEDICATDE PROMOTER CAUSE RUHANGIZ FATHEAZAM HER LIFELONG SERVICES IN MANIFOLD CAPACITIES BOTH CRADLE FAITH FOREIGN PIONEERING FIELD ADD LUSTRE TO ACCOMPLISHMENTS MEMBERS HER DISTINGUISHED FAMILY PRAYING HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HER RADIANT SOUL CONVEY SYMPATHY RELATIVES FRIENDS.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 468. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 12 (1950-1954), Pg(s) 691. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 469. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 470. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 467. View as PDF.
