“She should be taught to read.  How is it possible for woman to remember all her duties, religious and secular, through mere oral instruction?  But a written book, is a teacher always with her, and in every place and circumstance.  It addresses her without a voice, rebukes her without fear or shame, answers without sullenness and complaint.  She consults it when she wishes, without anxiety and embarrassment, and banishes it if not faithful or satisfactory, or even burns it without crime!

“Why forbid woman the use of the only means she can have of sending her views and feelings where the voice cannot reach? Now when a woman wishes to write a letter, she must go, closely veiled to the street, and hire a professional scribe to write for her, a letter which she cannot read, and which may utterly misrepresent her!

“Woman should also have instruction in the training of children.  The right training of children is not a natural instinct.  It is an art, and a lost art among us.  It must be learned from the experience and observation of those who have lived before us; and where do we now find the woman who knows how to give proper care to the bodies and souls of her children?”

Mr. Bistany then speaks of the importance of teaching woman domestic economy, sewing, cooking, and the care of the sick, as well as geography, arithmetic, and history, giving as reasons for the foregoing remarks, that the education of woman will benefit herself, her husband, her children and her country.

“How can she be an intelligent wife, a kind companion, a wise counsellor, a faithful spouse, aiding her husband, lightening his sufferings, training his children, and caring for his home, without education?  Without education, her taste is corrupt.  She will seek only outward ornament, and dress, and painting, as if unsatisfied with her Creator’s work; becoming a mere doll to be gazed at, or a trap to catch the men.  She will believe in countless superstitions, such as the Evil Eye, the howling of dogs, the crying of foxes, etc., which are too well known to need mention here.  He who would examine this subject, should consult that huge unwritten book, that famous volume called “Ketab en Nissa,” the “Book of the Women,” a work which has no existence among civilized women; or ask the old wives who have read it, and taught it in their schools of superstition.

“Let him who would know the evils of neglecting to educate woman, look at the ignorant, untaught woman in her language and dress, her conduct at home and abroad; her notions, thoughts, and caprices on religion and the world; her morals, inclinations and tastes; her house, her husband, her children and acquaintances, when she rejoices or mourns, when sick or well; and he will agree with us that an uneducated woman is a great evil in the world, not to say the greatest evil possible to be imagined.