20/02/2026
Did you know Quakers have been making the case for women's equality since 1666?
In preparation for International Women’s Day, we’ve been revisiting one of the foundational texts of Quakerism, ‘Women’s Speaking Justified’ by Margaret Fell.
Written from her prison cell in 1666, it stands today as the first full length written defence of women in public ministry in English.
Ahead of a new updated edition from Barclay Press next month, the Library of the Society of Friends showed us one of the originals.
Here’s a summary in 20 points:
1. In the beginning God joined women and men together, in his own image, making no distinctions between them, as humans do.
2. God put enmity between the woman and the Serpent. If the woman’s voice is silenced then only the voice of the Serpent will be heard.
3. The people of God, and the church, are repeatedly described as a woman.
4. Women play an important role in the Gospels, including Mary, Martha, the woman at the well and the woman with the alabaster jar. In these stories women are given information or insights before men.
5. Several women supported Jesus and his ministry, financially and personally, out of their own resources. These included Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna.
6. At the crucifixion, it was women who stood by Jesus, while the men were far off, and Mary Magdalene who reported this to the men.
7. It was women - Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome - who brought spices to anoint Jesus upon his burial.
8. It was women who first learnt of the resurrection and told these things to the apostles.
9. In the book of Acts, the apostles are joined together in prayer and supplication with women as well as men.
10. In the same book the prophecy of Joel is fulfilled that “both sons and daughters will prophesy”.
11. We also read that Priscilla (a female teacher) co-tutored Apollos. He did not reject her teaching, although later generations of Christian men would have done, because of her gender.
12. Women spoke in early church meetings for the purposes of sharing a song, a teaching, or a prophecy, and this was understood to be in good order. In order to not have too much babble, in some circumstances both men and women were told to stay silent.
13. When all this is taken into account, Paul’s instruction for women to keep silent in church can’t have been a matter of gender preference, but must have been to reduce the amount of ungrounded ministry in a particular community from some members of it.
14. Paul did not say that women should not speak prophetically if they are called to, rather, those who are under strife, confusion, and malice should not be speaking in worship meetings.
15. Likewise in his letter to Timothy, Paul must be talking about some particular women, not all women.
16. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul praises the public ministries of Euodia and Syntyche – both of whom are women.
17. In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul refers to women speaking, and does not command them to stop, but rather, calls them to do so in societal modesty - covering their heads as a means of embracing Jewish traditions.
18. In the book of Revelation the ‘New Jerusalem’, is depicted as a woman.
19. There are yet more examples of women giving ministry in the Bible, including Deborah, Huldah, Sara, Anna the prophetess and the four daughters of Philip.
20. Therefore it is hypocritical for priests to preach sermons about women’s words in the Bible, while still saying “Women must not speak!”.
