Speech in Meeting with a Large Group of Women of the Country

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

In return, I congratulate all of you sisters and faithful women, especially the families of martyrs, the mothers, wives, and sisters of our dear martyrs, on this auspicious and blessed day and this magnificent birth — which is both the blessed birth of the great lady of the world of creation throughout history, Fatimah the Pure and the Truthful (peace be upon her), and the day of the blessed birth of her worthy and great son, the Imam of the Ummah and the leader of the Islamic Revolution.

The personality of Zahra the Pure, in political, social, and jihad dimensions, is an exceptional and outstanding personality; so much so that all the fighting, revolutionary, and prominent women of the world can learn from her short and profound life. A woman who was born in the house of revolution and spent her entire childhood in the arms of a father who was engaged in a great, unforgettable global struggle. That lady who, in her childhood, tasted the hardships of the struggle during the Meccan period, was taken to the Valley of Abu Talib, experienced hunger, hardship, fear, and all kinds of intensities of the Meccan struggle, and later, when she migrated to Medina, became the wife of a man whose entire life was jihad in the way of God. In the nearly eleven years of shared life between Fatimah Zahra and Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon them), not a year, rather not even half a year passed without this husband being girded for jihad in the way of God and going to the battlefield, and this great and self-sacrificing woman being a worthy wife of a mujahid man and a permanent soldier and commander of the battlefield.

Thus, the life of Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her), although short and lasting no more than about twenty years, is a vast ocean of struggle, effort, revolutionary work, revolutionary patience, teaching, learning, speaking, defending prophethood and imamate, and the Islamic system, culminating in martyrdom. This is the jihad life of Fatimah Zahra, which is truly great, extraordinary, and indeed unparalleled, and certainly remains a shining and exceptional point in the human mind — both today and in the future.

However, the spiritual status of this great lady is far higher than her jihad, revolutionary, and social status. Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) is, in appearance, a human and a woman, a young woman at that; but in essence, she is a great truth, a shining divine light, a righteous servant, and an exceptional and chosen human being. She is the one to whom the Messenger of God said to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon them): "O Ali... you are the leader of the believers to paradise... and Fatimah will come on the Day of Resurrection... leading the believing women of my Ummah to paradise." That is, on the Day of Resurrection, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) will guide the believing men, and Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) will guide the believing women to divine paradise. She is equal and on par with Amir al-Mu'minin. When she stood in the prayer niche, thousands of God's close angels addressed and greeted her, congratulating her and saying the same words that the angels had previously said to Mary the Pure: "O Fatimah, indeed God has chosen you, purified you, and chosen you above the women of the worlds." This is the spiritual status of Fatimah Zahra.

A woman, even in her youth, reaches such a spiritual status that, according to some narrations, angels speak to her and present truths to her. She is a 'Muhaddathah'; that is, someone with whom angels converse and speak. This spiritual status and vast field and lofty peak stand before all the women of creation and the world. Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) stands at the peak of this great height and addresses all the women of the world, inviting them to follow this path.

Those who throughout history — whether in ancient ignorance or in the ignorance of the twentieth century — have tried to belittle and demean women, to attach them to superficial adornments and introduce them as bound to fashion, clothing, makeup, gold, and jewelry, and to present them as tools and means for the pleasures of life, and have practically taken steps in this direction, their logic is like snow and ice that melts and disappears in the face of the spiritual warmth of Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her).

Islam introduces Fatimah — that outstanding and exceptional celestial element — as a model and example for women. Her apparent life, jihad, struggle, knowledge, eloquence, sacrifice, husbandry, motherhood, companionship, migration, presence in all political and military fields, and her comprehensive prominence that made great men bow before her, this is her spiritual status, her bowing and prostration, her prayer niche, her supplication, her celestial essence, her spiritual brilliance, and her being equal and on par with Amir al-Mu'minin and the Prophet. This is what a woman is. The model of a woman that Islam wants to create is this.

All of us, especially the women of this society, must be grateful and appreciative of the mission and message of that great and esteemed late leader — Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) — who, with his uprising and movement, by presenting Islamic values and greatness and the brilliance of the personalities of early Islam — including Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) — revived us and, above all, our women.

In the self-lost society of the vile monarchical system, women were truly oppressed from all aspects. If a woman wanted to enter the field of knowledge, she had to abandon religion, piety, and chastity. Could a Muslim woman easily maintain her hijab, dignity, and composure in universities, educational environments, and scientific and cultural centers? Was it possible? Could a Muslim woman walk comfortably in the streets of Tehran and some other cities with Islamic dignity and composure or even with partial hijab, and remain safe from the harm of the words and actions of those infatuated with the corruption and debauchery imported from the West? They had made it so that in this country, acquiring knowledge for women was often impossible. I am not talking about exceptional cases. Generally, women's entry into the realm of knowledge was not possible unless they removed their hijab and abandoned piety and Islamic composure!

In the field of politics and social activities, it was the same. If a woman wanted to hold a social or political position in Iran during the monarchical era, she had to abandon the hijab, chastity, dignity, and composure of an Islamic woman. Of course, it depended on the essence and talent of the woman herself. If she was very weak-willed, she would slip to the depths. If she was self-controlled and self-restrained, she would preserve herself to some extent; but she was constantly faced with increasing pressures from the social environment. Our society was like this.

Islam, the revolution, and the Imam came and placed women at the center of political activities in this country and handed the flag of the revolution to women; while women, at the same time, were able to maintain their hijab, dignity, Islamic composure, chastity, religion, and piety. No one has a greater right over Iranian and Muslim women than this.

My sisters! The Western world has led women to degradation. Until sixty or seventy years ago, throughout Europe and Western countries, a woman could only be under the control of a man — either her own man or another man like a factory or farm owner — and had none of the basic rights of a human being in a civilized society. She had no right to vote, no right to ownership, no right to trade. Then they brought women into the field of work, life, and social activity; but at the same time, they provided all the means for women's deviation and left them unprotected in the heart of society.

The great capitalists, malicious and vile politicians, and operators of secret organizations thought they could better use this situation for political and economic purposes and lead women to degradation. Yes, in those places, there is also science and politics, and women advance in the field of science and politics; but at what cost? Even now, the masses and the generality of women — not just a few female doctors or specialists or writers and elites — in European and American countries that have greatly benefited from Western civilization, live in harsh and ruthless conditions, enduring the oppression of husbands and the oppressive work imposed on them and the heavy and burdensome tasks placed on their shoulders. With this, they pretend that they have brought women into the field of society; while there is no opportunity for them to think, reflect, and make decisions.

Thanks to the revolution, Iranian women have embarked on a very good path. Today, Iranian women can enter the field of knowledge and pursue scientific degrees; while maintaining the religion, chastity, piety, dignity, and personality of a Muslim woman. Right now, among you, how many female students, professors, and scientists are there? Also, women can enter the field of religious sciences and awareness; without any obstacles in their way. Right now, among you, there are a large number of students, teachers, and professors of religious sciences who are studying Islamic jurisprudence and religious insight. Our great Imam also gave great importance to this issue and therefore ordered the establishment of this institution in Qom.

Today, women in our country can show their personality in the field of politics, political and social activities, jihad, helping people and the revolution, and presence in various fields, while maintaining Islamic dignity, composure, and hijab.

The entire Western world and their media, these mercenary writers and agents of the great global capitalists and Zionists, have joined hands to ridicule the Islamic Republic. They attacked the issue of hijab with propaganda to perhaps drive us out of the field. Despite their propaganda, Islamic Iran and Muslim women have maintained their commitment to the issue of hijab and the Islamic dignity of Muslim women and the teachings of Islam regarding women with strength, decisiveness, and a spirit of self-confidence and assurance, and today it is the Western world that is gradually leaning towards Islamic hijab.

You see that women and Muslims in various countries — whether Islamic countries where there was no news of hijab and were immersed in Western teachings or even European countries — are turning towards hijab. Of course, first, Muslims showed their inclination, and after the victory of the revolution, we saw that distant countries that were influenced and attracted by Western and European culture were experimenting with hijab in the style of your Iranian women among themselves and turned to it. This is your progress.

Faithful women in our society should strive to appreciate the value of Iranian Muslim women. Know the value of Islamic and Muslim women. A woman who does not mix with men in interaction and socialization and does not consider herself a means to attract men's eyes and considers herself above this; a woman who considers her status more precious than to expose herself and attract the eyes of passersby with her face, hair, and body and satisfy their desires; a woman who considers herself at the foot of a peak where at its summit stands Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) — the greatest woman in human history; that woman is the Iranian Muslim woman. This woman should turn away from these toys provided by Western civilization and its conspiratorial methods and disregard them.

In the previous regime, although a large number of women were both illiterate and unaware of social issues — meaning they were not allowed to understand anything — and were indifferent to the fate of the country and did not even know that a woman could be involved in the fate of the country, despite these, in appearance, they were semi-European and sometimes even surpassed Western and European women, and when someone looked at them, they thought that this woman had just entered Iran from a European country and a Western environment; but if you spoke two words with her, you would see that she was an illiterate or semi-literate lady!

They forced women to create a false personality for themselves by displaying and attracting eyes towards themselves. This was degradation for women and not progress. Is there a greater crime against women than to occupy their minds with makeup, fashion, display, clothing, gold, and jewelry and use them as a tool and means for various purposes and prevent them from entering the field of politics, ethics, and education? This was precisely and programmatically done in the previous regime.

The revolution came and changed the behavior of women and the direction of the movement of the women of our country by one hundred and eighty degrees; that is, turning away from that direction and towards the direction of light, growth, scientific, ethical, and political understanding, presence in fields, growth of human personalities, and truly benefiting society. Be careful not to turn back from this path. Women should be careful not to lose this blessed path of the revolution. Today, being occupied with gold and jewelry is a disgrace for the revolutionary Iranian Muslim woman. Today, filling the head, chest, and hands with jewelry and idolizing jewelry, makeup, fashion, and clothing is a disgrace for the revolutionary Iranian Muslim woman. The one who pursues such things has low value. Gold does not create value for a woman; indifference to gold creates value. Fashion does not create value for a woman; indifference to the trap-like fashions made and crafted by the enemies creates value.

The Muslim woman has found her personality. Be careful not to lose this personality. Marriages during the revolution and thanks to it became easier because ceremonies and strictness decreased. Do not let us return to the first house again. Fathers and mothers should not be strict about unnecessary marriage preliminaries; young people do not have strictness. Let Islamic marriage take place. Let marriage for a Muslim girl and a young woman in an Islamic environment be like the marriage of Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her); a marriage with a spiritual and divine love bond and an unparalleled fusion between a believing and Muslim man and woman and a real partnership and companionship between two divine and noble elements, but alien to all the empty and superficial ceremonies and decorations. This is the correct marriage of a Muslim woman and the upbringing of children and the management of the home environment and, of course, thinking and attending to everything in society, religion, knowledge, and social and political activity. This is Islam.

My sisters should know that today the world is moving towards Islam. These are not slogans. This is reality. Today you see that our brothers in this region of Azerbaijan related to the Soviet Union show such Islamic interest. If someone imagines or portrays that the motivation for these movements is ethnic and national feelings, they are gravely mistaken. The feelings are Islamic feelings, and the leaders of the Soviet Union must also realistically pay attention to this fact that these feelings are Islamic feelings and therefore have an attraction for a billion Muslims. May the encounter with these feelings not be a wrong and clumsy encounter.

The leadership of the Soviet Union, by revising old methods, showed commendable courage, and today nations can express their beliefs, faith, and inner spiritual and heartfelt and faithful feelings. We appreciate and value the Islamic feelings of our Muslim brothers who, for more than seventy years, were forcibly kept away from Islam and have once again turned to Islam and are expressing their feelings. May the leaders of the Soviet Union not make a harsh and incorrect encounter with these Islamic feelings due to a wrong analysis. This is Islam. Islam is not something that can be extinguished. Islam is neither aggressive nor oppressive. Islam commands justice and fairness, and the Islamic community worldwide is in love with justice and fairness. The way to deal with Muslims everywhere in the world is justice and fairness, and this is the great Islamic goal.

Today, thanks be to God, Islam and all Islamic thoughts — including those related to women — are shining in the world. We hope that Almighty God will grant us the success to correctly understand this Islam. I advise you Muslim and revolutionary women to, as much as you can and wherever you are, grow and deepen your Islamic faith and knowledge and increase your awareness day by day. This, God willing, will be a support for the permanent dignity of Islam.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings