In our last Ruhi course, where we discuss the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, our topic was patriarchy and the differences in roles between men and women. As an example, I brought up something I notice again and again when I walk through Leipzig – especially in the afternoons, but in the mornings too: that a great many young mothers transport their little ones, children between two and about six or seven, very often by bike. And these are often special bikes designed exactly for that – a sturdier frame, mum sitting at the front, maybe supported by an e-motor, maybe not, and two special child seats mounted at the back. And then she rides – often exemplarily, with full gear and helmets – taking her kids to daycare or school, or picking them up.
I see this very often, and I raised it in our group. There are four of us, and Jonathan – the other man in the group – looked very sceptical and said that wasn’t his perception, he didn’t see it that way. You’d first have to agree on “sources”, he said, to be able to derive anything statistically at all; this was probably just my personal snapshot, and you couldn’t derive a pattern from it.
So this week I made a point of paying conscious attention every day to how many examples I actually see in everyday life – and it’s extreme: the ratio is about 1 to 15, I’d say right now. Within the last week I counted at least around 40 examples, so roughly seven or eight a day. I could have kept a tally on paper, but I consciously counted along in my head – in my mind’s eye – and it was definitely around 40 young mothers with their children, often on technically fascinating vehicles.
Yesterday, for example, I was out with my wife and we saw a mum on a bike where the child sat at the front and had its own pedals. Via a chain, the child could contribute to moving along – namely by driving a generator, independently of the mother! In other words: the mum was actively pedalling, supported by an electric motor, and the child at the front could pedal away independently at its own pace – not driving the bike directly, but charging the battery for the electric motor via a generator. Even something like that is possible today! And with all these parent-and-child bikes in everyday life, the ratio by my observation is about 1 to 15 – meaning you see 15 times more mums out with children on these bikes than men.
We’re happy to do the statistical fact check on this too. But I think that for Jonathan the real question goes much deeper – and he hinted at it himself when he said we’d first have to agree on a source: which source do we use if I myself, as a direct observer, am not credible enough as a source for him? And that, in turn, is fascinating in the context of the Bahá’í Faith, because at its core we’ve agreed there that we should be truthful and not lie. Isn’t that a wonderful example to discuss: is there a lie in the room here? Certainly not – but at the same time he doesn’t believe my perception. And that raises the exciting question: when do we believe each other’s lived experience – or am I, in the end, supposed to stop believing myself, stop believing what I see with my own eyes every day, as if I were hallucinating?
How do you most like to hold on to a thought like this?
Thank you. Every answer fits – take it with you into your day. Would you like to share something yourself?
