Statements of the Supreme Leader in a Meeting with a Large Group of Women

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

First of all, I welcome all of you honorable and dear women, especially the esteemed families of the martyrs - to the mothers and wives of our precious martyrs - for this warm and enthusiastic gathering, and I thank the honorable mother of three martyrs for her remarks.

The opportunity to commemorate the birth of Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) is a valuable occasion for Muslim women to reflect on the identity of the Muslim woman and the high value of women in Islam and in the light of the Islamic system. Like all other subjects, the issue of women has become a tool in the hands of those who trade in all human values. In the world and in the global media, over the years, those who value neither women, nor humanity, nor human dignity, except in monetary terms - unfortunately playing a significant role in the current Western civilization - have turned the issue of women into a capital and a means of exploitation for themselves; they discuss it, create culture around it, promote it, and place the minds of men and women around the world at a crossroads of a great temptation and misguidance. In such circumstances, it is appropriate for the Muslim woman to regain her identity by reflecting on Islamic concepts and values, and by carefully considering the lines that have been drawn in the Islamic system for the advancement of both women and men, and to display a strong argument against the sophistries and temptations of the agents of Zionism and the greedy.

Islam stood against the ignorance that oppressed women; both in the realm of spirituality and thought and human values, and in the political arena, and above all, in the family sphere. Women and men inevitably form a small society called the family, and if proper valuation is not made in a society, the first point where women are oppressed is within the family. In all three areas, Islam has established values.

In the realm of spiritual matters, women are among the pioneers of the spiritual movement of humanity towards progress. In the Quran, when it wants to give examples for the believers, it says: "And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh"; it cites a woman as an example. Where the discussion is about faith, Islam, patience, truthfulness, and striving to attain human and Islamic values, it states: "Indeed, the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, the devout men and women, the truthful men and women, the patient men and women". In this verse, ten titles for spiritual values are mentioned; Islam, faith, devotion, truthfulness, patience, humility, and others. In this field, women and men move forward side by side; both are mentioned. This idol of male dominance, which was always worshipped by men and even by women in ignorance, is shattered by Islam in these verses. In the political and social arena, the allegiance of women is introduced as a necessary and vital matter.

You can observe that in the Western world and in those European countries that claim to defend women's rights - which is mostly false - until the early decades of this century that has just ended, women not only did not have the right to vote, nor the right to speak and choose, but they also did not have the right to ownership. That is, women were not even owners of their own inherited property; their possessions were under the control of their husbands! In Islam, the allegiance of women, the ownership of women, and the presence of women in these fundamental political and social arenas are established: "When believing women come to you to pledge allegiance to you, that they do not associate anything with Allah". Women would come to pledge allegiance with the Prophet. The Prophet of Islam did not say that men should come to pledge allegiance and, consequently, whatever they voted for, women must accept; no. He said that women also pledge allegiance; they also participate in accepting this government, in accepting this social and political order. The Westerners are thirteen hundred years behind Islam in this regard and make such claims! The same applies to ownership and other areas related to social and political issues.

The very example of Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her), who during her childhood, after the Prophet's migration to Medina, was present in Medina and in all the public affairs of that day, where her father was the center of all political and social events, demonstrates the role of women in the Islamic system. Of course, Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her) is the pinnacle of these virtues. There were other distinguished women in the early days of Islam; knowledgeable, wise, and present in the fields, even present in the battlefields; some who had physical strength were present in the field of valor in war; sword fighting and soldiering. Of course, Islam has not made this obligatory for women and has lifted this burden from them; because it is not compatible with their physical nature and their emotions.

Within the family, from the Islamic perspective, men are obliged to care for women like a flower. It states: "The woman is a flower"; this pertains to the political and social arenas and the pursuit of knowledge and various social and political struggles; this relates to the family. "The woman is a flower and not a warrior"; this perspective that assumed women were obliged to perform services within the home has been refuted by the Prophet with this statement. Women are like flowers that must be cared for. This is how Islam views this being with spiritual and physical delicacies. This is the Islamic perspective. Both the feminine characteristics of women, which all their feelings and desires are based on this femininity, have been preserved, not imposed upon them, nor has it been requested that while being a woman, they think like men, work like men, or desire like men - that is, the characteristic of being a woman, which is a natural and innate characteristic and the axis of all feminine feelings and efforts, has been preserved in the Islamic view - while at the same time, the fields of knowledge, spirituality, piety, and politics have been opened to them, and they have been encouraged to acquire knowledge and to participate in various social and political arenas. Then, within the family, men have been told that they have no right to impose obligations, exceed limits, or exercise ignorant and unlawful powers. This is the Islamic perspective.

With this perspective, when the Islamic movement reached the stage of the Islamic Revolution and women, with the same natural understanding of Islam in the female community, stepped forward; the Imam said - and he was right - that: if women had not cooperated in this movement, the revolution would not have succeeded. Certainly, if women had not participated in the streets and in the massive demonstrations - that magnificent and glorious presence of women during the revolution - the revolution would not have succeeded. In the imposed war, if mothers like this esteemed mother of three martyrs and the mothers of martyrs and the wives of martyrs - with whom I have had the honor of interacting closely with thousands of them and observing their characteristics - had not shown their faith, patience, steadfastness, knowledge, and insight in the face of the losses of war and the sacrifices of the youth and men, the war would not have been victorious. If the mothers and wives of martyrs had shown impatience, the enthusiasm for jihad in the way of God and martyrdom in the hearts of men would have dried up; it would not have surged like this; it would not have invigorated society. In the battlefield, women also played first-rate roles. If during the revolution, the loyalty of women, the emotions of women, and the presence of women in various fields, in demonstrations and elections had not existed, certainly this great popular movement could not have taken shape and continued in this way. This is the view of Islam; this is the view of the Islamic system.

The Westerners must be accountable regarding the gender of women; because they have betrayed women. Western civilization has given nothing to women. If scientific, political, and intellectual progress is seen in women, it belongs to the women themselves. In any country where such advancements occur for women - which has happened in Islamic Iran and in other countries as well - it belongs to the women themselves. What the Westerners have fostered and what the foundation of the Western civilization has been built upon is the immorality and degradation of women. They have dragged women into degradation and have not reformed their status within the family. Repeatedly, in American and European media, the high rates of violence against women, torture, and neglect have been published. The Western culture regarding women and the degradation of women in those regions has caused the foundation of the family to become weak and unstable, and the betrayal of women and men to one another within the family is not considered significant. Is this not a sin? Is this not a betrayal to the gender of women? With this culture, they are demanding from the whole world; while they should be indebted! The Western culture regarding women must be placed in a defensive position; it must defend itself; it must explain; but the dominance and control of the capitalist and arrogant Western media distort the issue; they become the claimants; they become the defenders of women's rights, as they say! While this is not the case. Of course, among the Westerners, there are certainly thinkers, philosophers, and honest and righteous individuals who think and speak sincerely. What I am saying is that the general tendency of Western culture and civilization is against women and detrimental to women.

The Iranian woman in Islamic Iran must strive to revive the noble identity of the Islamic woman in such a way that it attracts the attention of the world. This is a duty upon Muslim women today; especially young women and female students.

The Islamic identity is that women, while preserving their feminine identity and characteristics - which is natural and innate and for every gender, the characteristics of that gender are valuable - that is, they preserve those delicate feelings, passionate emotions, love and affection, tenderness, and the brightness of femininity for themselves, while at the same time, they must advance in the fields of spiritual values - such as knowledge, worship, closeness to God, divine knowledge, and traversing the paths of mysticism - and also in the arenas of social and political issues, steadfastness, patience, resistance, political presence, political will, understanding and political intelligence, knowledge of their country, knowledge of their future, knowledge of national and great goals and Islamic objectives related to Islamic countries and nations, knowledge of the enemy's plots, knowledge of the enemy, and knowledge of the enemy's methods must progress day by day, and also in creating justice and fairness and a peaceful and tranquil environment within the family, they must make progress. If laws are necessary, if corrections and reforms in matters that lead to this are needed, educated, aware, and knowledgeable women must lead in all these fields; they must show the model of women; they must say that the Muslim woman is one who preserves her religion, her hijab, her femininity, her delicacies and tenderness; she defends her rights; she advances in the fields of spirituality, knowledge, research, and closeness to God, and demonstrates prominent personalities, and also has a presence in the political arena. This becomes a model for women.

You should know that Muslim women in many parts of the world today look to you and learn from you. The fact that you see in some Western countries, in some Muslim countries but with non-Islamic governments, that Islamic hijab is under attack by the enemies of religion indicates the inclination of women towards hijab. In our neighboring countries, where there was no emphasis on hijab; in Islamic countries where I have personally seen some places where the name of hijab was never mentioned; in the twenty years following the revolution, women; especially educated women and especially female students, have shown an inclination towards hijab; they have developed an interest; they have turned to it and preserved hijab; examples of which have also been observed in Western countries. You are a model; you are an example.

Know that today, there are no women in the world like our mothers of martyrs, mothers of two martyrs, mothers of three martyrs, mothers of four martyrs. In our society, there are many mothers with these characteristics who stood better, stronger, and more knowingly than the fathers in this field. This is the same Islamic upbringing; this is the same pure, sanctified, and radiant lap of Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her). You are the daughters of Fatimah; you are the children of Fatimah Zahra; you are the followers of Fatimah Zahra.

I hope that the sacred lights of guardianship, spirituality, and knowledge illuminate the hearts of all of you, and that day by day, Muslim women take greater and better steps towards preserving their Islamic identity, and that the pure spirit of the late Imam, who opened this path for our women, be encompassed by divine grace and blessings, and God willing, the pure prayers of the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him) include all of you, my dear and honorable sisters.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.