Statements in Meeting with Hundreds of Educated and Active Women of the Country

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

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the remainder of God on the earth.

Today, a very pleasant and beneficial session has been held here, and God willing, it will have great benefits for our future and our thoughts. I am very pleased that we were able to hold this session this year. Last year, the ladies wrote a letter, protesting why you dedicated Women's Day to [meeting] the eulogists; it is true; it is a valid objection. And well, [for holding this session] Women's Day has no particularity; it is good to be around the birth of Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her); now, if we are alive, God willing, we will hold this session in the future.

This session has so far, up to this moment, been a purely women's session filled with prominent and lofty concepts. The discussions that the ladies had were very good, and I truly benefited from them. Of course, confirming these matters with a single hearing, especially when expressed quickly and through this loudspeaker, is not possible. One must reflect and think; therefore, please definitely give me these writings — that lady who spoke without notes should also write down her words; both will enhance her precision and give us the opportunity to reflect and contemplate — so that I can give these matters to a group to think about and study; there were suggestions, and God willing, they can find solutions for those suggestions. Perhaps some of these matters, for example, may relate to the Cultural Revolution Council; they should be raised there or elsewhere. Especially this issue of employing our wise, capable, experienced, knowledgeable, and understanding women in various levels of decision-making and policymaking in the country; this is an important matter. Of course, my mind is occupied with this issue; we must find a way for it; we must find a path, God willing, to see what can be done. Well, today you heard many good points from these ladies. I must not forget to commend the song that the children sang, which truly deserves praise; both the poem was very good, and the melody was very good, and it was performed very well. I thank all of them.

Today, I want to express a few important points regarding the issue of women — a few points that I consider important — perhaps we have mentioned some of these points before, or you have mentioned some, but it is good to emphasize them. I want to tell you, the educated girls of Iran who are present here and all those who hear these words, that regarding the issue of women, our position against the hypocritical claims of the West is a position of demand, not a position of defense. Some years ago, students at the university asked me what defense I have regarding a certain issue. I said I have no defense; I have an offensive stance. In the issue of women, it is like this; the world is to blame. When I say 'the world,' I mean this Western world and the existing Western philosophy and culture; of course, I am not concerned with historical West; that is another discussion. The modern West, meaning what has been expressed in all aspects of life for about two hundred years; we are demanding against them; they are truly guilty regarding the issue of women; they have inflicted harm, committed crimes. Therefore, the discussions we have do not have a defensive aspect; they are a statement of Islamic opinion and Islamic position. Even if the matters we raise regarding the issue of women and the topic of women, and I thank God that I see that you ladies who spoke are completely knowledgeable about these issues, are repeated, expressed, there is hope that you can truly influence Western public opinion; because truly, their women are suffering; the Western women's society today is unconsciously suffering in some respects and consciously in others; you may also have an effect on them.

One of the points I want to express is Islam's view on gender and the issue of women, what Islam's perspective is regarding women and men. I will briefly say, the elaboration and detailing of its branches is up to you to follow up, research, and work on. Regarding Islam's view, it can be said that Islam considers 'human' in human and Islamic value; there is no distinction between women and men; the equality of women and men in the realm of human and Islamic values is among the certainties of Islam; there is no doubt about this. In the verse of the Quran and in the continuation of the verses that were recited here, it states: 'Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, and the believing men and believing women, and the obedient men and obedient women, and the truthful men and truthful women, and the patient men and patient women, and the humble men and humble women, and the charitable men and charitable women, and the fasting men and fasting women, and the chaste men and chaste women, and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember' — it mentions ten main characteristics for men and women, that all are equal [in reward]; 'God has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward.' This is Islam's view. Or in another verse, it states: 'Indeed, I do not waste the work of a worker among you, whether male or female.' There is no distinction. That is, in terms of human and Islamic value, there is no difference between women and men. Islam's view of women and men is a view of humanity; neither has any particularity.

Of course, the mutual responsibilities of women and men towards each other are different, but there is balance. The sacred legislator in the Quran in Surah Al-Baqarah states: 'And for them is the like of that which is upon them in kindness'; that which is a right for them is the same amount of right that is upon them, meaning it is upon them. Something belongs to them, and to the same extent, something belongs to the other party, meaning it is upon them and their duty. That is, every duty assigned to someone has a corresponding right. Every privilege given to either has a corresponding duty; complete balance. This is also true regarding the rights of women and men. Therefore, rights and duties are not the same but are balanced — as one of the ladies also referred to in her remarks regarding this meaning — and work has been done on this, it has been studied; and now you can see the details in those books and writings and the like.

In looking at responsibilities, here the emphasis is on the natural characteristics of women and men. There are differences between women and men, meaning there are feminine and masculine natures. Both in body and in spirit and in spiritual matters, there are differences; responsibilities are proportional to those differences. These differences affect the types of responsibilities that pertain to women or men; this relates to feminine or masculine nature. Neither should do anything contrary to their nature. This man who imitates a woman in his behavior and facial grooming, and this woman who imitates a man in her behaviors, speech, and movements are making a mistake; both are making mistakes. This was regarding personal duties and so-called various responsibilities that exist in the home environment and outside.

However, regarding social duties, the responsibilities of women and men are the same. The roles are different, but the duties are the same. That is, both women and men have obligatory jihad; however, the jihad of men is one way, and the jihad of women is another way. For example, in this eight-year defense, women were also obligated, and they fulfilled their duty well. If women did not act better than men during this period, at least they acted as much as men. If you have not read the books regarding the role of women during the Sacred Defense, read them; books have been written. Thanks be to God, our good youth are thinking about these things and providing them. For instance, the biographies related to the spouses of martyrs; I do not think you can read one of these biographies without shedding tears ten times; it is impossible! That is, one sees the jihad of this woman; the man has gone to the battlefield, but this [woman] is doing jihad; jihad is obligatory for both of them. Enjoining good and forbidding wrong is obligatory for both women and men, but the roles are divided; the roles are not the same. This is Islam's view regarding women and men in the various arenas I mentioned. Well, this is both a progressive view and a just one: women in their prominent place, men in their prominent place, and both enjoying legal, intellectual, theoretical, and practical privileges; contrary to the value system and capitalism of the West; of course, as I mentioned, I am referring to the modern West.

The capitalist system of the West is fundamentally a patriarchal system; that is, what they say about Islam and are wrong and contrary to reality is exactly true for themselves; why? The root of this view is that in the capitalist system, capital is above humanity; and humans are placed in the service of capital. Well, every human who can generate more capital, accumulate wealth, is valued more. The stronger man is more powerful; [the extraction of] gold, jewels, diamonds, etc., in Africa and in America and South America was done by men; the large economic and commercial managements were done by men; therefore, men have priority over women in the capitalist system; because the superiority of capital over humanity is more true for men. Well, now that it has been decided that capital determines the status of humans, humans are no longer equal, they are naturally different. Then we said according to this capitalist view, the male gender is naturally superior to the female gender. Hence, you see in the capitalist system, women are exploited in two ways: one regarding work; this is one of the important points. Now, this lady who said they were in the West, in these points, she is presumably well-informed, knowledgeable; in books and places where there is public information, you can find it. Even now in many Western countries, women's wages for similar work to men are less than men's; that is, they assign the same work of men to women and pay them less; because they are weaker, because they are more submissive; this is how it is. This is one form of exploitation. One reason that the issue of women's freedom was raised in the nineteenth century and later, especially in the nineteenth century, was to pull women out of the home, take them to factories, and use them with lower wages.

Here, I will open a parenthesis; the same issue occurred regarding the freedom of blacks in America during the American Civil War in 1860 — that is, nearly one hundred and sixty years ago, when in those multi-year civil wars in America, over a million were killed; there was a war between the North and the South — that the aftermath of these wars raised the issue of the freedom of slaves, the freedom of black slaves. In the South, there was agriculture, in the North, there was industry. The South was the center of slaves, and the slaves were mostly in the South who were engaged in agriculture; Northerners needed cheap labor, they needed these blacks; the Northerners started the uproar for the freedom of slaves. If you have read the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, you see; this is nearly two hundred years old; it is from that time. They encouraged them, they escaped from here, they took them over there; for what? To be free? No, to need cheap labor; cheap labor! The deception of the so-called civilized Westerners in various matters is of this kind. Now, of course, there are many similar examples.

Therefore, one was that they struck women and brought them into the labor field to incur lower costs, to take on less expense, to pay less money; one also because the male gender is the superior gender, women should be made the means of men's enjoyment. Of course, it is hard for me; discussing this issue in all gatherings is truly difficult for me, especially in a women's gathering, but it is a reality; what can we do? Everyone has worked to convince women that their privilege lies in the type of behavior that enhances their sexual attractiveness to men; all efforts have been made. This is a very tragic story; I have read many things in this regard that one truly cannot express. In one of the American magazines — seven, eight, ten years ago, they brought it to me — a very prominent American businessman who had dozens of very modern, advanced, and beautiful chain restaurants announced that he was hiring; who? Young girls; young women with the specifications mentioned; one of these specifications was that they must have their skirts a certain length above the knee; they had also taken a picture that it must be like this! That is, you see, the planning for business, for industry, for ordinary life in the streets is such that the lustful man can satisfy himself visually! Well, these truly broke the dignity of women; these broke the honor of women. The worst issue is the one I mentioned: to bring women — young women or young girls — to the conclusion that their value lies in appearing in a way that can attract men's attention from a sexual perspective! Now, which man? The man who is walking in the street. Bringing women to this conclusion was the greatest blow that they inflicted on women. And now there are many other issues that many of them you may know and have read.

Well, what was the result of this patriarchal view? When men in Western civilization are the superior gender and civilization is a patriarchal civilization, the result is that women try to make men their model and men become the model for women; women move towards masculine activities; this is the result. You see, there is a Quranic verse here that one of the ladies also referred to, [of course] she did not read the verse, but I think this verse was meant. The noble verse states: 'God sets forth an example for those who disbelieve: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot; for the disbelievers, two women are examples; two disbelieving women are models and examples of disbelieving women: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot, who betrayed their husbands; 'they did not avail them against God at all.' This is for the disbelievers. Then [it states]: 'And God sets forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh.' Two women are set as examples for all disbelievers; two women are set as examples for all believers; whether women or men. That is, if all the men of the world want to be believers, their models are two women: one is the wife of Pharaoh, one is Lady Mary. 'And God sets forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh;' in the height of chastity and purity; the same lady who caused when Moses was taken from the water, they did not kill him; 'do not kill him,' she said; then she believed in Moses, and later was killed under torture. This is the model. [And the other model] 'and Mary, the daughter of Imran,' who 'guarded her chastity.' We unfortunately do not have much information about what the issue was; there were events surrounding Lady Mary where this great lady resisted with great power and preserved her pure dignity, and until the end of the events, as you know. That is, exactly the opposite of Western civilization, which places men as models, the Quran places women as models; not only for women but for all humans; whether in the realm of disbelief or in the realm of faith.

Well, then the audacity of the West appears here; with all the blows they have inflicted on women and the dignity of women and the honor of women, they pretend to be the flag bearers of women's rights! That is, they are using [the issue of] women's rights in the world; this is truly the height of audacity. Now, sometimes someone has secret information from some places, sometimes not, it is very clear that one truly does not want to mention the name of what happened last year among Western women and sexual assaults and the like. With all this, they still say we are supporters of women, supporters of women's rights! What is referred to in the unprincipled language of the Westerners as women's freedom is this; when they say women's freedom, they mean freedom in this sense; [to them] this is freedom; [these] are not freedom; they are bondage, they are insult.

Unfortunately, internally, we reached these points late; that is, many of these words became clear to us after the revolution, otherwise before the revolution, even some of the elders thought that this freedom of interaction between women and men in the West would cause the eyes and hearts of men to be satisfied and that sexual offenses would no longer occur; the offenses that occasionally occurred here and there, when the eyes and hearts of men were satisfied, these offenses would no longer occur; they thought this way! Now you look and see whether the eyes and hearts of these have been satisfied or their greed has increased a hundredfold with these sexual assaults that occur? They are constantly saying. In the workplace, in the streets, everywhere, even in organized and ironclad institutions like the army — where women are also present — assaults occur! Assault is different from consensual immorality. Now that consensual immorality is one thing; in addition to that, forced assault also occurs; that is, not only have their eyes and hearts not been satisfied, but greed and lust among them have increased a hundredfold. Hence, today you see in the West, there is sexual commerce, sexual slavery, breaking all ethical and human boundaries, normalizing and legalizing things that are forbidden in all religions. This homosexuality and such matters are not only related to Islam; these are among the major sins forbidden in all religions; they are legalizing these, and they truly do not feel ashamed! Well, therefore, one of the practical obligations in our society is that we must avoid [following] the Western view on gender issues severely.

You wise, educated, and knowledgeable ladies, thanks be to God, are everywhere, and this gathering you are in is a sample of the whole; you are a flower from a great garden; throughout the country, thanks be to God, there are many knowledgeable, thoughtful, educated, and informed women, thanks be to God. The hope we had that these young believing girls would grow into knowledgeable and scholarly women has, thanks be to God, been fulfilled. One of your important tasks is to expose the tragic view of Western culture regarding gender and the issue of women, and tell everyone; some do not know. Even within our own country, some do not know, and many outside do not know; in Islamic countries, many do not know. Islamic countries are thirsty to understand these kinds of things. In the places we have gone and are present and the news reaches us, this is the case; and the Western countries are the same. Today, well, virtual space communications are very easy; you can take virtual space communications and create a foundation for them to pay attention and organize these concepts in the form of short and clear propositions — which should be both short and clear — and send them for the understanding of public opinion regarding these hashtags and such things that exist; these are great opportunities for you that are at your disposal. Well, this is one point: Islam's view theoretically and practically regarding the issue of women and men, and the issue of gender.

Another point regarding women's issues is the family issue, which fortunately was raised from several angles in the remarks of these ladies who spoke, and it was very good; I truly enjoyed their statements. You see, the formation of a family arises from a general law of the universe, the general law of creation; that law is the law of pairing: 'Glory be to Him who created all pairs from what the earth produces and from themselves and from what they do not know.' God Almighty has placed pairing in everything, in everything — 'He created all things' — in everything there is pairing; in humans, there is pairing; in animals, there is pairing; in plants, there is pairing; and from what they do not know; there are some things that are paired, [but] we do not know. Now, for example, we do not know how pairing exists among stones; in the future, it may be discovered. In celestial bodies, there is pairing; how it is, we do not know; it will be discovered in the future. You see, 'Glory be to Him who created all pairs from what the earth produces and from themselves and from what they do not know.' Well, this pairing is. What I read was from Surah Yasin. Another verse, Surah Al-Dhariyat, states: 'And of everything We created two kinds, that you may remember.' Pairing is a general law.

Now, here in parentheses, I want to mention that this pairing, which is so clear in the Islamic view, is exactly the opposite of the contradiction in Hegelian and Marxist dialectics; that is, the main pillar of this Hegelian dialectic, which Marx later took from him, is contradiction, which is the movement of society and the movement of history and human movement arises from contradiction; that is, there is 'thesis' and 'antithesis' that from antithesis and thesis, 'synthesis' arises. In Islam, no, synthesis does not arise from antithesis; it arises from pairing; it arises from compatibility, from companionship, that the next rank arises, the next generation arises, the next movement arises, the next stage arises. Of course, these need to be examined and worked on. What I mentioned is a theory, a view. Well, therefore, pairing is a general law of the universe. This pairing exists in plants, in animals, but this fixed law regarding humans has specific regulations; specific regulations have been established regarding humans. What is the reason that specific regulations have been established? Because pairing could also occur without regulations, just as there is disorder in some parts of the world. The reason is that human actions are based on choice and free will. Human movement, human progress, cannot happen without their own choice and free will. They must be able to make this choice and free will within a framework; otherwise, one chooses one thing, another chooses something contrary, chaos arises.

In order for order to be established in society, in history, in human life, law is necessary. Law exists everywhere; in the issue of human pairing, it also exists. This is not specific to Islam; in all the religions of the world, you look, pairing has a law; in Christianity, in Judaism, [even] in Buddhism, in other places, other religions — as far as we know — there is a law that a woman and a man pair together. Lawlessness here is a sin, a crime, an injustice, causing confusion, causing chaos. Well, these regulations lead to the health of the family; if these regulations are observed, it leads to a healthy family; when the family is healthy, the society becomes healthy. The family is the cell that forms society; when families are healthy, society becomes healthy.

Well, now what is the role of women in the family, in the family environment? I imagine this based on the collection of knowledge in the verses and narrations and such; that is, a woman is the air that fills the space of the family; just as you breathe in the air, if there is no air, breathing is not possible, a woman is like this; the woman of the family is like the breath in this space. The narration states: 'A woman is a flower and not a laborer;' this is related to the family. 'Flower' means a flower, means fragrance, a pleasant smell; the same air that fills the space. 'Laborer' in Arabic — in 'not a laborer' — is different from 'laborer' in Persian. 'Laborer' means a worker, a laborer, or for example, suppose a foreman; a woman is not a 'laborer.' In the family, it is not that you think now that you have taken a woman, you can throw the work on her; no. She voluntarily wants to do a job, [that is fine;] it is her own house, she wants to do a job, she has done it; if not, no one has the right — man or otherwise — to force her to do that job. So this is the case.

Well, a woman in the family sometimes appears in the role of a wife, sometimes in the role of a mother; each has its own particularity. In the role of a wife, a woman is primarily a symbol of tranquility: 'And He made from it its mate that he might find comfort in her;' tranquility. Because life has turbulence; the man is busy in this sea of life; when he comes home, he needs tranquility, he needs peace. This peace is created by the woman in the home; 'that he might find comfort in her;' [meaning] the man feels tranquility next to the woman; the woman is the source of tranquility. The role of the woman as a wife is love and tranquility, just as I mentioned earlier, read those books of the spouses of martyrs; love and tranquility are well evident there and show how this man who has now gone into the battlefield — whether in the Sacred Defense, whether in the defense of the shrine, or in other hard fields — how he finds tranquility next to this woman and how her love keeps him standing, gives him courage, gives him strength so that he can work. That is, the woman as a wife is like this: a source of residence, a source of love and tranquility, and so on. Now, this issue of residence that I mentioned: 'And He made from it its mate that he might find comfort in her;' this is one verse; in another verse, it also states: 'He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find comfort in them and He placed between you affection and mercy.' 'Affection' means the same love; 'mercy' means kindness; love and kindness are exchanged between the woman and the husband. The role of the woman as a wife is this; this is not a small role, it is a very important role, it is a very great role. This relates to being a wife.

Regarding the role of motherhood, it is the right to life; that is, the woman is the producer of beings that come into existence from her. This is how it is. She is the one who carries, she is the one who gives birth, she is the one who nourishes, she is the one who takes care. The lives of humans are in the hands of mothers; mothers have the right to life over their children. The love that God Almighty has placed in the heart of a mother for her child is a unique thing; that is, there is no love of this type, of this quality that has been placed. She has the right to life, then the continuation of the generation; mothers are the source of the continuation of the generation, meaning the human generation continues with 'motherhood.'

Mothers are the transmitters of national identity; national identity is an important thing. That is, the identity of a nation, the personality of a nation is primarily transmitted through mothers; language, customs, traditions, good morals, good habits, all are primarily transmitted through mothers. The father is also effective, but much less than the mother; the mother has the most influence.

The sowers of the seed of faith in hearts; it is mothers who raise the child to be a believer. 'Faith' is not a lesson that one teaches someone to learn; faith is a growth, a spiritual growth that requires sowing; this sowing is done by the mother, and the mother does this work. The same goes for morals. Therefore, her role is extraordinary.

Now, these two roles are important; I have often said, and my belief is the same, that the most important and primary duties of women are these. That is, now this lady said, 'I am a housewife,' well, that is very good. The primary role of a woman from the Islamic perspective is this role of homemaking, but the important thing is that homemaking does not mean staying at home. Some confuse these; when we say homemaking, they think we mean stay inside the house, do nothing, perform no duties, do not teach, do not strive, do not engage in social work, do not engage in political activities; homemaking does not mean this. Homemaking means to have the house; alongside having the house, any other work that you are capable of and have the desire and enthusiasm for can be done; however, all is under the umbrella of homemaking. If the matter arises somewhere between preserving the life of this child or that work in the administration, the life of this child takes precedence; do you have any doubt about this? No, that is, no woman has any doubt that if the life of the child is in danger or that work in the administration is in danger, the life of the child takes precedence. The morals of the child are the same; the faith of the child is the same; the upbringing of the child is the same. That is, just as you have no doubt regarding the life of the child, the same goes for upbringing. Of course, there are some places where one can solve this so-called dilemma between this and that in a certain way, some cases can be solved, but if there is truly a dilemma and there is no way out, this takes precedence over that [administrative work]; but [if] that is also a permissible work, a necessary work, in some cases it is obligatory, it is a duty, it must be done — that is, social work in some cases is obligatory, it is a duty, it must be done — there it must be done.

Of course, in those cases where it is obligatory, it depends on how important this obligation is. Now, I used the example of life [but] sometimes there is a case where the importance of an obligation is greater than the life of a human child, greater than the life of a human spouse, greater than the life of a human father and mother. Therefore, you say to Imam Hussein: 'My father and mother are your sacrifice.' Who is greater than the father and mother? Their lives are sacrificed for your life. Or in the verse of the Quran, it states: 'Say: If your fathers and your sons and your brothers' until the rest of it: 'are more beloved to you than God and His Messenger and jihad in His way, then wait.' In some cases, it is like this. When an obligation becomes great, it gains such importance that it even takes precedence over the life of a child; however, in other [ordinary] cases, the axis of women's duties is the family, and truly, the family cannot be managed without the presence of women, without the activity of women, without the sense of duty of women; it cannot be managed; without women, it cannot be managed. There are sometimes small knots in the family that can only be untied with the delicate fingers of women. No matter how strong and capable a man is, he cannot untie some of these knots. These delicate knots and sometimes the deadlocks can only be untied with the delicate fingers of women. Well, this is also regarding the family.

Of course, regarding the family issue, if we want to look at Western issues, it is a tragedy; it is a tragedy! The West has disintegrated the family; it has truly disintegrated it. Of course, when I say it has disintegrated, it does not mean that there is no family in the West at all; yes, some families are good families, they are truly families; some are the appearance of families, but not the essence of families. I read in a Western American writing that a man and a woman, in order to be able to see their children properly and to be a family, agree that at a certain hour you come from the office, the lady also comes from the office, they have a tea, an evening snack together; that is, a specific hour — for example, from 4 to 6 — he comes, she also comes, the children who came from school come and sit down to have tea together; this becomes a family! Then he goes to pursue his own work, she goes to pursue her own socializing, her own friendships; this is not a family, it is the appearance of a family.

Westerners have truly disintegrated the family with various means and methods that I previously mentioned, and this has led to the gradual collapse of the family, which has raised the voices of Western thinkers; many of their well-wishers, their reformers have noticed this and are shouting; however, I think they have no choice now; that is, in some Western countries, the slope has become so steep that it can no longer be stopped, they are going; that is, families are not reformable. This is also the issue of the family.

There are several other matters that unfortunately I can no longer discuss in detail; one is the issue of hijab. Hijab is a religious necessity; it is a religious obligation; that is, there is no doubt about the obligation of hijab; everyone must know this. Those who now question, doubt whether hijab exists, is necessary, is obligatory, no, there is no room for doubt and questioning; it is a religious obligation that must be observed, but those who do not fully observe hijab should not be accused of being irreligious and anti-revolutionary; no. I have said this before; once during one of my provincial trips, I said this in a gathering of scholars; the scholars were gathered there; I said why sometimes some of you accuse this lady who now suppose some of her hair is showing or, in common parlance, is poorly veiled — that now it must be said she is weakly veiled; her hijab is weak — of being anti-revolutionary? I entered this city, a crowd came to welcome me; perhaps at least one-third of this crowd are such ladies, they are shedding tears; one cannot say she is anti-revolutionary; how can she be anti-revolutionary when she comes with such enthusiasm and fervor and motivation to participate in a religious ceremony or a revolutionary ceremony? These are our own children, our own daughters. I have repeated this several times now in the sermon of Eid al-Fitr that in the ceremonies of Ramadan, in the nights of revival — they bring me the pictures, now I cannot go to those places, but they bring me the image — women with various appearances, various sizes are shedding tears; I envy that kind of crying! I say I wish I could also cry like this girl, like this young woman; how can one accuse this? Yes, it is not a correct action; being poorly veiled or weak hijab is not correct, but this does not mean that we can exclude these [individuals] from the realm of religion and revolution and such; why? Of course, all of us have some shortcomings, we must eliminate the shortcomings; the more we can eliminate them, the better. This is one issue and another topic that was regarding the issue of hijab.

One issue that unfortunately there is no time for me to discuss in this regard is the service of the Islamic Republic to women; this must not be forgotten. You see, I think none of you have seen the pre-revolution period; we spent almost half of our lives in the pre-revolution period. In the pre-revolution period, wise, knowledgeable, scholarly, educated women, those who are engaged in research and have studies in various fields were few; all these female university professors, all these specialized and super-specialized female doctors, all these scholarly researchers in various fields — that I say in various fields, I have truly gone, seen, and visited — advanced sciences, advanced technologies, scholarly women, educated women are working there. This did not exist in the pre-revolution period; this is the work that the revolution did. All these female students, that in some years you see the female students in the statistics are more than male students. This means a lot; all this desire for education.

Then in the sports fields; you see, our girls go to the sports fields, become champions, win gold medals with Islamic hijab; what better advertisement for hijab than this? Some of these ladies came and presented their gold medals to me. Of course, I return them to themselves to keep; but truly I am proud of these kinds of women. In an international arena where millions of people are watching from behind the cameras, this Iranian girl goes there, wins the gold medal, raises her country's flag, and then stands there with hijab; what better advertisement for hijab than this, more than this? In various fields, in scientific Olympiads, in various places, women have progressed; that is, this is truly the case. Well, now that some of these ladies said that [women] are not employed, there is no practical use of them in decision-making and policymaking, yes, this is a flaw, there is no doubt about this flaw, this flaw must be eliminated, but the existence of all these knowledgeable, wise, scholarly, research-oriented, opinionated, and writing women [is noteworthy]. From these books that are about the biographies of martyrs and the women of martyrs and the families of martyrs that are brought to me, I truly enjoy; the authors of these are mostly women who have gone ahead of men. What pens, what writings! Female poets, very good poets. The same poem that this lady presenter recited was a very good poem that is also hers. This is also a point.

And I also add that in these recent events, well, you saw, against hijab a lot of work was done; who stood against these efforts and calls? The women themselves; the women stood firm. Their hope was in these women whom you call poorly veiled; their hope was in these; they hoped that those who have half-hearted hijab would completely unveil, [but] they did not; that is, they slapped the face of the advertiser and the caller.

The last point I will mention is that with all the words we have said, with all the definitions we have given that are real, it is fair to say that in our society, within some families, women are oppressed; men, relying on their physical strength, because their voices are deeper, their heights are taller, their arms are thicker, bully women; women are oppressed; well, what is the solution? What can we do? We want to preserve the family too; the solution is that the laws related to the family must be so strong and robust that no man is able to oppress women; the laws must come to the aid of the oppressed party. Of course, there are also a few cases where the opposite is true, meaning a woman oppresses; we have some cases like this; of course, it is rare, and most cases are as I mentioned before. We hope that, God willing, all these matters will be corrected.

I have benefited from the matters that the ladies mentioned. We hope that, God willing, all these issues reach their best conclusions, and I ask God Almighty for goodness, health, and well-being for all of you.

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