“Equal rights for men...”

Hard on the heels of welcome news coming out of Iran regarding Zoroastrian priestesses comes the excellent news from the Karachi Parsi Anjuman Trust Fund (KPATF) about equal rights for inter-married Zoroastrians ("Equal rights for men and women,” Zoroastrians Abroad, Parsiana, July 7, 2011). All right-minded Zoroastrians must salute KPATF for this most sensible and daring decision.

I read a letter in the August 7, 2011 issue of Parsiana that reader Jal S. Desai has questioned whether the Karachi Anjuman had the right to decide in this matter. Who are we, Indian Zoroastrians, to question their decision? It was the most correct decision to take for our community’s survival even though fanatical priests and members of the laity may disagree.

The Daver-Beaman judgment was the most perverse in our community’s history. It’s time we moved away from that male chauvinistic attitude.

B. T. DASTUR