Statements in Meeting with Thousands of Women and Girls

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 and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure and chosen progeny, especially the remaining one of God on the earth.

Welcome, dear ladies, sisters, daughters, my own children; all of you are our children, and you are the builders of tomorrow's Iran, the world of tomorrow. This session has been very rich and useful up to this moment. I thank all those who organized the program. I thank the dear girls who sang; both their lyrics were good — meaning the content of the poem was good — and their melody was good, and they performed very well. I thank the esteemed reciter. I thank the eloquent and articulate host. I sincerely thank the spouses of martyrs, the mothers of martyrs, and the children of martyrs who are present in this gathering, and I express my respect to all of them. I thank Mrs. Zakzaky who spoke here; she is the mother of six martyrs; three of her sons were martyred in one incident, and three others in another incident, and this woman has endured many hardships and imprisonment like a mountain. I thank the Palestinian woman whose video we watched here; I ask those involved to convey our gratitude to her and tell her that I always pray for them every night.

The topics raised here were very good; I mean, really, if I do not say anything now and we just rely on what these ladies said here, this session has achieved its benefit; both regarding sports, legal issues for women, religious art, concerns about threats from cyberspace and artificial intelligence, as well as the issue of the country's elites in various sectors and planning for them, and appreciation for mothers and housewives, and what was said about the poor state of cyberspace, and about female doctors and the care of female patients in hospitals, all these points raised were correct. Complaints and grievances and possibly suggestions should be given to us; it is not our job, it is the job of government officials, but at the same time, we recommend, we emphasize, and we ask the officials to follow these up, God willing; we hope that this will happen.

This session has been held on the occasion of the approaching days of the birth of the great lady, Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her); I will say a few words about her, and then I have noted some points regarding the issue of women, as much as the remaining time allows, I will briefly present.

Regarding Lady of the Women of the Worlds, Lady of the Women of Paradise — which has been mentioned about Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her) — each of the statements made by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny), Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), and the rest of the Imams about this great lady all witness to the immeasurable greatness of this esteemed woman; I mean, truly, the greatness of Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her) cannot be compared to any human being, except for the members of the Prophet's household and the Prophet himself and his offspring; her status is very great. I will only mention one hadith that you have heard many times; it is a hadith that both Shia and Sunni have narrated. That hadith is: "Indeed, God becomes angry with the anger of Fatimah, and He is pleased with her pleasure"; (3) this means that any human being, any Muslim, if they want to please God, must do something that pleases Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her). The recommendations of that great lady, her lessons, her orientations, her emotions, if observed, respected, and adhered to, God will be pleased. Beyond this, what virtue can one imagine for a human being, whether a woman or a man?

In my opinion, a Muslim woman cannot find a better role model than Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her); rather, no woman in the world can find a better role model than her. Whether in her childhood, her adolescence, her youth, her family life, her behavior with her father, with her husband, with her children, with the worker in her home, or her behavior in society, in politics, in leadership; all of these are exemplary. And the important thing is that all these greatnesses, all these activities, all these role models were accomplished in a short lifetime: a maximum of 25 years; the age of Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her) has been narrated from 18 years to 25 years. This is a role model; our daughters, our women, the dear ladies of our Islamic community should strive to follow Fatimah al-Zahra with this spirit, with this motivation; both in household management, in social and political activities, and in wisdom and knowledge — which, of course, in the case of that great lady was divine inspiration, while in our case, it is something to be acquired; if you strive, divine inspiration will certainly assist you — in all areas, let us set that great lady as a role model and follow her. These few sentences are about that great lady.

And now about the issue of "women". Well, you are all, thanks be to God, knowledgeable and educated and aware of the various issues that are raised in Islam regarding "women"; there is no need for me to say much, but I will still say a few sentences.

In the issue of "women", both the discussion of feminine identity and the identity of women, the values of women, the rights of women, the duties of women, the freedoms of women, and the limitations of women, each of these is a very important and decisive issue. Today, when we look at the world as a whole, [we see] two orientations, two approaches exist in all these areas: one approach is the prevailing Western approach that has also spread to non-Western countries — in all the areas I mentioned — and the other approach is the Islamic approach; these two are opposed to each other, they are two currents, and each has its own perspective on these issues and questions. [Thus], discussions can be held in all these areas and answers can be reached, but there is one point here that I believe is noteworthy, and that is that the Western cultural and civilizational system is not willing to engage in discussions on these issues; it avoids entering into debate and research. The Western culture, the Western system — the civilizational and cultural system of the West — does not come forward to discuss many questions in these areas; it advances the issue with uproar and noise and the use of art and cinema and force and cyberspace and similar means; it promotes its own perspective, its own approach — they have no logic — with various tools at their disposal; they are not willing to discuss, they are not willing to answer questions. The reason is that the West has no logic; this increasingly worse and more vulgar behavior that is now prevalent in the West regarding women's issues, and consequently in many other countries, has no logic behind it; therefore, they do not engage in discussions, they are not willing to provide reasoning.

Why is it that in Western environments, day by day, women's negligence in preserving the dignity and identity of their femininity increases, and the dignity of women is increasingly violated? Why is it that in official gatherings held in Europe and America, a woman can even participate in these official sessions with semi-nude attire, while a man must dress completely, wearing a tie or bow tie? Why? Why can a woman come like that, [but] if a man were to come to an official gathering, for example, in shorts, it would be considered against etiquette? What is the reason? A woman can come in a miniskirt, but if this [man] wears slightly casual clothing, it is a problem; why? Why is it that in Western environments, prostitution and immorality are increasingly promoted? This is happening. Why is homosexuality recognized as an advanced method, so that if someone denies it, they are considered backward, a backward person, a backward nation? Why? It is promoted both in political environments and [in] social environments; presidents and officials of countries promote it, and some take pride in saying that we are like this! Why? What logic does this have? Why is it that in the negligent Western environments, sexual issues of a threefold or fourfold nature — according to statistics they provide and information that is available to us and we know; this information is not hidden, it is public — are increasing day by day? All the things that destroy the family are increasing day by day in the West. All these things are destructive to the foundation of the family; sexual freedom and the excess of sexual assaults destroy the family. A few years ago, I quoted from a book by one of the American presidents; the statistics are truly terrifying; statistics on sexual assaults, statistics on immorality. And sexual assault has no punishment; they are not punished, but hijab has punishment! A scoundrel, a thug, a veiled woman can be harmed, then taken to court, and in court, that woman can be stabbed and killed, this is not a problem! (6) Now, for example, they might give that scoundrel a prison sentence for a while, but this fight against hijab and opposition to hijab is absolutely not condemned as a vile act; why? These are unanswered questions, they do not answer these, [because] there is no logic. For an Iranian, for example, an Iranian official who has participated in a major European or American gathering, if they are asked whether they agree with homosexuality, if they say no, they are booed! What is the reason? What logic does this have? There is no answer; that is, the West has no logic behind its behavior regarding the issue of "women" and the related issues of women and the behavior it has towards the women's community, and that is why they flee from discussion, from dialogue, from debate in these areas.

I mentioned that they advance their own approach with tools; they are quite adept at this: they make films, write books, write articles, pay money, compel artistic, cultural, and political figures, etc., to speak; they establish international centers — centers related to women — and these so-called international organizations give scores to any country that opposes their approach, judging them and placing them at the bottom of the table.

Well, now there is much to say in these areas, and I have spoken a lot on this topic. Yesterday, a book was brought to me that contained discussions I had made, which had been published, and I had not seen it; I looked and saw that many of the points I had prepared and wanted to say here today were in that book, and they have been said many times before; we have discussed these issues extensively. I will summarize in one word that the essence and summary of the policy and approach of Western civilization regarding the very important and vital issue of "women" boils down to two factors: "exploitation" and "pleasure-seeking", each of which has its own explanation. Regarding this "exploitation", I have spoken at times, but now there is no time to discuss it. Well, this is the Western approach to the issue of "women".

The Islamic approach is exactly the opposite; the Islamic approach is logical, it is reasoned, it is clear and explicit in this regard. The issue of "women" in Islam is one of the strengths of Islam; I want to convey this to you. Some may think that we must sit and respond to issues related to women; no, Islam has a strong and solid logic and rational backing in all areas related to women; whether in the places where it negates gender, or in the places where it emphasizes gender, there is logic in all of these.

In some cases, Islam completely disregards gender; the discussion is not about women and men, the issue is about the dignity of humanity: وَ لَقَد کَرَّمنا بَنی آدَم; (7) here, gender is not an issue. Human values in women and men are equal, and in their relative value to men, gender is absolutely not an issue: "وَ المُؤمِنونَ وَ المُؤمِناتُ بَعضُهُم اَولیاءُ بَعضٍ یَأمُرونَ بِالمَعروفِ وَ یَنهَونَ عَنِ المُنکَر" (8) to the end; "اِنَّ المُسلِمینَ وَ المُسلِماتِ وَ المُؤمِنینَ وَ المُؤمِناتِ وَ القانِتینَ وَ القانِتات" (9) to the end of the verse of Surah Al-Ahzab. All of these are equal in the eyes of God in the ranks of spiritual ascent; that is, absolutely neither one has preference over the other, nor does the other have preference over this; both have been placed on this path with similar potential, and it depends on their effort; there are women who no man can match.

Therefore, gender is not an issue. Of course, in the same areas of spirituality, in certain places and for specific reasons, God has preferred the female gender; like this verse that was recited: وَ ضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلاً لِلَّذینَ آمَنُوا امرَأَتَ فِرعَون. (10) In the story of Prophet Musa, there are individuals who are specifically mentioned in relation to Musa; there is Harun, there is Khidr, there is the companion of Prophet Musa; there are a few individuals who are specifically mentioned in the Quran, but in none of them is this expression used that they are a role model; "مَثَل" means example and role model. God has set two women as examples for all believing humans; one is the wife of Pharaoh, and the other is Mary: وَ مَریَمَ ابنَتَ عِمرانَ الَّتی اَحصَنَت فَرجَها. (11) Here, God has not mentioned Musa himself as an example and role model for believers, but has mentioned the wife of Pharaoh — who is the stepmother of Musa — and has not mentioned Jesus himself, but has mentioned his mother. This is a kind of preference and superiority of women, for reasons that I believe are clear; because in the male gender, due to the material and physical conditions and the characteristics that exist, there is a tendency for superiority; especially in the era when the Quran was revealed, it was like this; God wants to negate this: what is this talk? Because, for example, his voice is deeper, because he is taller, because he is broader, does that make him more valuable? No, he must follow this woman, this lady, and set her as his role model. Or in a narration [there is] a man who comes to the Prophet and asks: Who should I be most dutiful to? The Prophet says: Your mother; (12) then he asks who next? The Prophet says: Your mother; the third time he asks, well, who next? Again he says: Your mother; that is, three times the Prophet mentions the mother. Then that son asks who next? He says: Your father; that is, the mother is mentioned three times ahead of the father. Well, this indicates the status of women in the family; this emphasizes this meaning. I want to say that in spiritual conduct, in spiritual and divine ascent, in true human values, gender has no role whatsoever, except in certain cases where one is preferred over the other, and this is also the preference of women over men; as far as I have seen, I have not seen any other case. Here, in those places, gender is eliminated.

In the essence of social responsibilities, it is the same. Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) once said that involvement in politics and in the fundamental affairs of the country is a duty and obligation of women; (13) that is, it is obligatory for women to engage in the affairs of the country and its fundamental duties, which, of course, has a long chapter following it; that is, in these areas, there is no difference between women and men.

In addressing community affairs: مَن اَصبَحَ و لَم یَهتَمَّ بِاُمورِ المُسلِمینَ فَلَیسَ بِمُسلِم; (14) that which was said "لَیسَ بِمُسلِم", means whether it is a woman or a man. When you wake up, whether you are a housewife, a working woman, a businesswoman, or an industrialist, whatever you do, you must think about the community; that is, you must be concerned about the state of the community. Now how much you can help and play a role varies; each individual can play a role, but this concern is universal; this engagement, this concern, being thoughtful, is universal. Here, gender has no role. Or the same "مَن سَمِعَ رَجُلاً یُنادی یا لَلمُسلِمین"; (15) this lady who spoke now said that we are blocked in the issue of Palestine and in the issue of Gaza, otherwise we could have come. Now, for example, suppose this lady who is a doctor could have been there to treat patients, the injured, children, and women. Everyone has a role, but the essence of this concern, this duty and sense of responsibility is public, it does not differentiate between women and men. Islam has clearly stated these; these are things that are clear in Islam and have been articulated.

However, in family duties, of course not; in family-related duties, the responsibilities are not the same; each has a type of duty. The capabilities, physical capacities, emotional capacities assign a duty to each; here, gender plays a role. The slogan of "gender equality" given absolutely is wrong. Gender equality is not valid everywhere; in some places, yes, there is equality, but in some places, there is not, and it cannot be. What is correct is "gender justice"; "gender justice" is valid everywhere. "Justice" means placing everything in its proper place. The spiritual makeup of women, the physical makeup of women, the emotional makeup of women necessitates certain issues. Childbearing, child-rearing, and nurturing children are the work of women; a man cannot do this work, and God did not create him for this; he is for another work; the work outside the home, solving the problems of the house. However, in family rights, they are equal: وَ لَهُنَّ مِثلُ الَّذی عَلَیهِنَّ بِالمَعروف; (16) that is, as much as a man has rights in the family, a woman has the same rights in the family; this is a verse of the Quran. So, in family rights, they are equal, but in family duties, they are not. Of course, there are some things that should be more observed regarding women, which were also mentioned in the discussions of these ladies, and I have noted some.

[For example] the issue of women's security; security within the family. A woman must feel secure alongside a man, feel safe; the four walls of the house should be a place of comfort and security. If the husband's behavior is such that it deprives the woman of this feeling of security, if the woman feels insecure, if the husband is abusive or much worse and more horrific, resorts to violence, this is absolutely unacceptable. What is the solution? The solution is strict laws; I have said this many times. Strict laws must be enacted. They referred to a law that is in the parliament; well, these must definitely be pursued. We also recommend, you should also pursue this. There must be severe punishment for a man who creates an unsafe environment for a woman inside the house; the same goes for outside the house. This is one issue.

Another issue is the issue of social jobs and management, which some women asked me about. Here, too, gender is not an issue. In various management positions, in various social and governmental jobs, the presence of women has no limitations. Now, for example, suppose the Americans had compelled one of the neighboring countries to ensure that women must have 25 percent presence in the administrative environment; it is obligatory, compulsory; this is wrong. Why 25 percent? Well, 35 percent, well, 20 percent. Setting a specific number, determining a ratio, makes no sense; here, the criterion is meritocracy. There is a place where a qualified, experienced, capable woman is better for the ministry than this man who has been nominated for the ministry; this woman should become the minister. The same goes for parliamentary representation. For example, suppose in a certain city, one or two parliamentary representatives are needed; one or two women, one or two men have been designated, [it must be seen] who is more qualified, the qualification must be considered. There is no preference here, there is no limitation in these areas; that is, this is the Islamic view. The discussion is about meritocracy.

Of course, a woman can participate in these jobs, but it must be in such a way that she is not deprived of that important fundamental feminine duty, which is household management and childbearing; even in some jobs that are obligatory for women, such as medicine. Women's medicine is obligatory; to the extent that there are enough female doctors, women must study medicine. Likewise, for example, teaching women is an obligatory duty. Well, now there may be a time when this obligatory duty [conflicts] with household management or childbearing or the rest periods and leaves that a housewife needs or the working hours that she can manage to do the work and also attend to the house; if there is a conflict in these areas, it is the responsibility of the country’s officials to think about this; that is, they should increase the number so that if this teacher, for example, has to attend school five days a week, for example, she can attend four days, there should be another teacher available to fill that gap; the same goes for medicine. Therefore, in jobs, in management, in essential tasks, in those tasks that are obligatory for women, there are no limitations, and if there is a conflict with feminine household duties, it must be resolved in such a way that neither this area is left unattended nor that one. Of course, in my opinion, they are not mutually exclusive; I know women who have had heavy social responsibilities — whether academic and scientific work or non-scientific work — and have raised several children, educated them, and have done this very well. Therefore, these do not contradict each other.

There are two important points in the Islamic perspective; that is, as we said, the way is open for women in all areas — social and political activities, etc. — alongside two important points that Islam is sensitive about: one point is the issue of family, which I mentioned, and one point is the danger of sexual attraction; the danger of sexual attraction! Islam is sensitive about this. Islam warns against environments and spaces that may become a slippery slope of sexual attraction — which is one of the most dangerous slippery slopes — that may cause problems for women or men; we must be cautious.

And hijab is in this regard; the issue of hijab is one of the things that can create limitations in the face of sexual attraction; for this reason, Islam emphasizes the issue of hijab. In Surah Al-Ahzab, in two places, the issue of hijab [is mentioned]: وَ اِذا سَأَلتُموهُنَّ مَتاعًا فَسئَلوهُنَّ مِن وَراءِ حِجاب; (18) those who go to the Prophet's house, for example, if they are guests and want to take some food, they should not face the Prophet's women, they should take it from behind the curtain; that is, this is emphasized. Likewise, in another verse of Surah Al-Ahzab, the same meaning exists.

Therefore, these two sensitivities must be observed: both the issue of hijab must be genuinely respected, and the issue of family and the role of "motherhood", which is the most important role. I might say that in the entirety of human creation, the role of "motherhood" is the highest role; because if there is no "motherhood", there is no childbearing, no pregnancy, no breastfeeding, the human race would become extinct; therefore, "motherhood" is the most important role in the creation of the world and in the material existence of human beings. Islam gives importance to this; [you also] give importance to this, pursue this; the issue of sexual attraction should also be treated the same way.

Many tasks are also accomplished through mutual understanding. Some think that working at home is the duty of women; no, a woman's duty is absolutely not to work at home. Cooking, washing clothes, cleaning are not the duties of women; men and women must come to a mutual understanding. Now, fortunately, some men do these tasks and work at home, helping women, taking on some household responsibilities. In any case, this is not the duty of women; everyone should know this.

The issue of the age of marriage, which is emphasized in Islamic texts, is that the age of marriage should not be too high, and young people should marry sooner, is due to this issue of preventing the threat of sexual attraction. Of course, this does not mean marrying children, as is now being raised; no, young men, young women, girls and boys, whatever they can do to marry at the right time and in a timely manner is more desirable in Islam and is certainly much better for themselves and for society. Therefore, when we look at the issue of hijab, let us not see it as something that deprives women; this is not deprivation, this is actually a form of empowerment; hijab is security-enhancing, it provides security, it preserves.

Now, within the Islamic Republic, although we have not yet been able to become "Islamic" in the true sense — I have said this many times; we are a half-hearted Islamic state — nevertheless, you observe that the progress of women in this Islamic Republic is incomparable to before; in science, in research, in social activities, in art, in sports, in all endeavors; so many female scholars, so many female university professors, so many virtuous women, so many female writers in various forms of writing; practical writing, artistic writing, storytelling, poetry, and so on. Before the revolution, we did not even have one-tenth of this; I was fully present in the social environment [and I know]. Today, thanks be to God, the country is rich in these areas, and this is due to the blessings of Islam; although I said the Islamic Republic is still a half-hearted Islamic country and we have not yet been able to fully implement Islam; if we do, this [capability] that we have today will multiply several times and will be much better.

In my concluding remarks, I would like to refer to the issue of elections. In this matter of elections — which I emphasized a few days ago (19) — you ladies and dear women can play a role. Your most important role is within the home; mothers can play a role, encouraging their children and husbands to be active in the elections and to research properly. Women can look at some issues of recognizing individuals and strategies and currents more precisely and delicately than men and find points; [therefore] in recognizing electoral candidates, in participating at the ballot boxes, both inside the home and outside the home, you can play a role.

I am very happy with your visit; it took a bit longer and passed noon; God willing, may you all be successful.

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