men exalt themselves over women, nor women exalt themselves over men". The Báb instructed his followers to not mistreat women "even for the blink of an eye" and set the penalty for causing grief to women as double that of causing grief to men. He also encouraged the education of women and didn't display a gender distinction in Bábi laws on education. Armin Eschraghi notes the context of 19th century Iran and that, "Modern western readers might not appreciate the revolutionary potential" of the Báb's teaching that "Those who have been brought up in this community, men and women, are allowed to look [at each other], speak and sit together" The Primal Will of God is also personified as the female figure of the maid of heaven. The Báb also foreshadowed later developments in media, by emphasising the need for a rapid system of news communication, which would be available for all to access, no matter their wealth or social standing. He writes, regarding the news, that "until such a system is made universal, its benefit will not reach those servants of the kingdom unless there come a time when it will be accessible to all the people. Although today the kings have their own special couriers, this is fruitless, for the poor are deprived of such a service." Jack McLean, summarizing Nader Saiedi's analysis, writes that the Báb's writings "foresee current global issues of crisis, such as the protection of the environment and the commodification of natural resources" The Báb specifically calls for the absolute purity of water in the Bayán and as all substances return to the inland water table and the oceans, this could easily be seen as a general law for the protection of the environment. The Arabic Bayán also forbids the commodification of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water. The Báb's theological teachings include, "gnostic and Neoplatonist features common to earlier Shiʿite sects such as the Ismaʿilis and Ḥorūfīs" and, "at the heart of the system is the belief that the divine or eternal essence is unknowable, indescribable, and inaccessible", according to Denis MacEoin. This would continue as a key principle of the Baha'i Faith. (see God in the Baháʼí Faith) The Báb also developed a distinct philosophy of aesthetics, which emphasised beauty and refinement (litafat) as governing principles, not only for art but for our actions, and stressed the need to bring