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"The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities both of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting; force is losing its dominance, and mental alertness, intuition, and the spiritual qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy. Hence the new age will be an age of less masculine and more permeated with the feminine ideals, or to speak more exactly, will be an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced." ('Abdul-Baha) (75:2) The core of the family is marriage. In Baha'i Writings it is said that the first purpose of marriage is procreation and the raising of children: in short, the continuation of the species. But this is not all. It is also an instrument for the spiritual development of all members of the family, living together in intimacy with persons of a different sex and different age groups, learning to appreciate the beauty in the variety of life, and learning the responsibility of protecting the young and weak. The Baha'i concept of marriage is therefore much more than a legal contract between two individuals. It is more a social and spiritual contract covering all members of the family..
(75:5)
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