Statements in Meeting with a Group of Distinguished Women from Religious and Academic Circles

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

I am very grateful to the esteemed and honorable women who organized such a fruitful and productive session, and I truly benefited from the statements made by the ladies today; I thanked God for the depth that one observes in the discussions, efforts, and thoughts among the distinguished and prominent women of our country, thanks be to God. The points you raised were mostly good; there were also suggestions that, God willing, we will have them reviewed; as far as my responsibilities are concerned, we will certainly pursue them, God willing.

Regarding the issue of women and everything surrounding this issue, there is indeed much to say; we are experiencing a kind of backwardness that some of the ladies who spoke referred to. This backwardness in this realm is not of the same nature as the backwardness in science — which we say we are experiencing, for example — but here, when we refer to backwardness, it is because we have significant discussions and prominent thoughts regarding women, gender issues, and matters that revolve around the existence of women — such as family, children, marriage, residence, and tranquility — that we have not succeeded in conveying to the world, we have not managed to present these in the global mindset, and this is the backwardness we face. While the world needs clear, comprehensive, and effective foundations and concepts; as you observed, some ladies mentioned that when we present these in the world, they are welcomed; or some ladies said that scientific achievements in psychology and other fields confirm Islamic rulings regarding women. This is one aspect of the capabilities of the Islamic thought system in this sensitive issue; and we have not been able to express and define these capabilities correctly. In many different intellectual areas and realms of thought, it is the same; in many areas, we have truly failed to convey Islam's perspective to the world. Now, when I say "we have failed," this cannot be blamed on the Islamic Republic system; because the amount of work that has been done is, thanks to the Islamic Republic system and the influence of the revolutionary thought and the thought of Imam Khomeini (may his soul be sanctified) and the name of the revolution and the name of Imam, that has, thanks be to God, expanded to some extent; however, we need to work more than this, which we require, and I will explain now. In order to have an offensive front that is immune from the attacks of others — an offensive arrangement — we need to disseminate these works, these thoughts, these ideas; we truly need this; in fact, this offensive of ours has a defensive and protective aspect. Therefore, whatever you do to compensate for this backwardness, in my opinion, is beneficial and necessary. In the context of this movement — it must be said, the awakening movement regarding issues related to women — we should not delay or stop at all; we should not linger along the way. Despite having this complete, useful, and convincing discourse from Islam at our disposal, we have practically placed ourselves in a position of passivity in the face of the Western discourse regarding women.

The Western discourse regarding women is a completely calculated political discourse; that is, the day this thought and discourse about women began to operate in the West, there was a precise calculation behind it. This is not merely news that I state based on information and references to news, but it has real confirmations that strengthen this analysis; that is, from the beginning of the Renaissance in the West and following the emergence of industry and the advent of new industry in the West, gradually this Western discourse grew; and its peak is in our time, which, of course, this peak will be accompanied by decline and, God willing, disgrace and collapse of this discourse.

The Western discourse regarding women has various components, but two components are prominent: one is the masculinization of women, meaning making women resemble men; this is an important part of this discourse; another part is making women a means of sexual pleasure for men, whether visual pleasure or worse stages beyond visual pleasure; this is another aspect of the Western discourse regarding women. This issue of feminism and the things that have become prevalent in the world today are all, in fact, products of that Western discourse that ultimately leads to these outcomes.

Masculinizing women; that is, they sought to draw various occupations that are more compatible with the physical, neurological, and intellectual structure of men towards women and present this as an honor for women and a privilege for women. We have become passive in the face of this; we have, unknowingly and unwillingly, accepted this discourse. You see, we now take pride in the number of women we have in certain executive sectors of the country. Let there be no misunderstanding; I have no problem with these women being in these executive positions; I do not prohibit it, deny it, or find fault with it — suppose our Minister of Health is a woman, or the Vice Presidents of the President are women, or there are women in various sectors, this is not an issue for me — what is problematic is taking pride in this; that we flaunt to the world that look, we have this many women in executive sectors! This is the very passivity, this is the very act of being overwhelmed; this is not a source of pride. Very well, there is a woman, she has values, she has gained abilities, she has become suitable for this position; very well, let her be, it is not against the law; but to take pride in the fact that we have this many women in executive positions is wrong. If we take pride in the number of educated, enlightened women we have, that is good, that is commendable; if we say we have this many women writers, cultural activists, or political activists, that is acceptable; if we say we have this many women who are martyrs and engaged in various fields, that is good; if we say we have this many women who are politically active in the revolutionary arena — speakers, writers — that is good; taking pride in these is good; but taking pride in the fact that we have this many female ministers, this many female representatives, this many female vice presidents in various sectors, this many female heads of commercial institutions, taking pride in this is wrong; this is passivity in the face of them. Were we supposed to assign masculine tasks to women? No, the place and identity of women, in their own gender, is a very high and dignified identity, in some respects even superior to men. In general, when we look at it, there is no difference between women and men; in terms of creation, in terms of the characteristics of their natural essence that God Almighty has created, there are certain advantages on the side of women, and certain advantages on the side of men; God Almighty has given certain characteristics to this gender, and certain characteristics to that gender; there are certain distinctions and values on one side, and certain distinctions and values on the other side; hence, in terms of what pertains to humanity, there is no difference between them, there is no distinction; in what God Almighty has established for humanity — in terms of human rights, social rights, spiritual values, and spiritual evolution — there is no difference; that is, a man can become like Ali ibn Abi Talib, and a woman can become like Fatimah al-Zahra; a man can become like Jesus, and a woman can become like Mary; there is no difference between them. Therefore, this perspective is correct that we recognize women in their own gender — as they are, true women, true females — and see what values this individual belonging to this gender or this community of this gender can grow and elevate; this perspective is the correct one. We should not have fallen into passivity in the face of the Western perspective, which unfortunately we have.

Of course, in the second part, which makes women a means for men's sexual pleasure — not spiritual and moral pleasure, not scientific pleasure; it is possible for two people to sit together, one enjoys the pleasant conversation of the other, the knowledge of someone; no, this is not what is being discussed — for men to easily derive sexual pleasure from women, this has entered the defenseless and unprotected Islamic countries from the West like a flood; our country is the same. Fortunately, the revolution came, and this was largely curtailed, and it must be prevented; this is a great danger; it is a tremendous calamity. The issue of hijab is one of the prerequisites for this work, the issue of covering and clothing is the same, the issue of the interaction between men and women and the limits of interaction is one of the prerequisites to prevent this great calamity, which is both a calamity for women and a calamity for men — and of course includes the humiliation of women without them realizing it — from occurring. Today, this issue is deliberately being exacerbated in the world. Of course, I am aware and have read in writings, in publications, in books that Western thinkers are gradually feeling fear and horror from this situation; they are right, but they realized it too late; exacerbating the issue of lust — which was focused on women; and today you see that worse things are happening in the world, this issue of homosexuality and same-sex relationships and these marriages and families of similar genders and such — these are things that come easily to the tongue; these are deep and dangerous pits lying ahead of that civilization and those who manage and advance that civilization; it is an extraordinary slippery slope, it will bring them down; now this is halfway down, it is halfway down the slope. Of course, in my opinion, they are also incapable of stopping it. That is, their problem has gone beyond these words. A few years ago — about seven, eight, ten years ago — I saw and read in the media of foreign countries that Americans are pursuing to make films from the books of a certain novelist — whose novels are about family — to draw towards filmmaking and cinematography and such; well, they have done some work, and they are doing it; but these are like narrow streams in the face of a massive flood that they themselves have unleashed; and they have been caught in it and will be caught in it even more in the future. We, of course, currently have a kind of immunity regarding this issue — due to the hijab and the things that exist — but this should not be underestimated, it must be given serious importance. In the discussions that the ladies mentioned that they are working on, the issue of sexual attraction and the danger of sexual attraction for women, for men, for society, and for families, in my opinion, must be taken very seriously.

Well, we have stated that the Islamic discourse is about the "true woman"; this discourse, as I mentioned, must be presented in an offensive manner. Do not ever be in a defensive position. Some ladies said that those who pursue, for example, the women’s convention or institutions affiliated with the United Nations threaten that if you do such and such, we may issue a resolution against you! Well, let them issue a resolution. The Islamic discourse regarding women must be presented with an offensive, demanding spirit. If they say, why don’t you give women the freedom to go without hijab, we should say, why do you give this harmful and terrifying freedom, in the way that exists today in the West? What is currently being pursued in the West regarding the lack of protection and hijab for women is, at times, so horrifying that one wonders what they want to do, where they are going? Surely you have more news than I do, but I also have a lot of information in this regard about what is being done; at various levels: from high levels to the common levels of life and work and such. The characteristics of women in this discourse must be articulated; the dignity of women, the honor of women, the delicacy of women, not just physical delicacy but the delicacy of the intellectual and neurological structure and the delicacy of the functions they must perform. These extremely thin and delicate threads of a child's nerves can only be separated by the delicate and tender fingertips of a mother, so that no complexes arise, no knots form; no one else can do this, that is, no other human being who is not of the female gender can do this; this work is feminine work. That is, some functions are so accompanied by delicacy that one marvels at the divine power that how this high ability has been granted to women along with delicacy. I always tell friends, relatives, and women, contrary to what is commonly believed, among these two genders, the stronger gender is women. Women are stronger than men. Women can, with wisdom and delicacy, turn men around in their hands; one can observe this in experience, and it can also be proven through logical and intellectual comparisons. This is a reality. Yes, there are women who act imprudently, hence they cannot perform this task; but a woman who is wise can tame a man. This is like someone being able to harness a ferocious lion, to ride it; this does not mean that he is physically stronger than this lion, it means he has been able to employ this spiritual authority; women have this ability, but with delicacy; that is, the delicacy we speak of is not only in the physical composition and structure but also in the delicacy of thought, wisdom, and decision-making that God Almighty has placed in women. Therefore, in my opinion, the foundation of work must be this: this discourse must be strengthened and advanced.

The second point I want to mention regarding the current issues of women in our country is, in my opinion, two issues that are more important or say more urgent and necessary than the other issues. One issue is the importance and dignity of the home and family. The home must be respected; a person without a home — who has no shelter and abode — is inconceivable. Every human being needs a home and a home environment. The spirit of the home environment is the family; this must be given importance, and we must reflect on and contemplate this. The second is to prevent the weakness and oppression of women at various levels; we have women who are weak and deprived, we have women who are oppressed and wronged; we must prevent these oppressions. Important laws are needed that must exist, necessary moralities must be pursued to be realized, and necessary customs and traditions must exist so that women are not oppressed at various levels — I have noted this here — social, sexual, familial, cultural, and intellectual interactions must not lead to the oppression of women. That is, from completely personal and private matters — that is, sexual matters — the possibility and potential for the oppression of women and their victimization exists, to more general matters such as social issues, familial issues; regarding familial issues, I have noted here: respect in the eyes of the husband, in the eyes of the child, in the eyes of the father, in the eyes of the brother. If a woman is respected and honored in the family environment, a significant portion of societal problems will be solved. We must ensure that children kiss their mother's hand; Islam seeks this. As is observed in more religious and ethical families, and those closer to religious concepts, this is seen. Children of the family should have reverence for their mother. This reverence towards the mother does not contradict the emotional and intimate relationship that exists between the child and the mother; it does not contradict at all; this respect must exist; the woman must be respected within the family. This is how to eliminate oppression. If we assume that in a family, in a home, the man insults his wife, various insults, from behavioral insults to verbal ones to physical brutality that unfortunately still exists in some places in our country, which should not exist, of course, it exists among Westerners, and it is abundant, and it is not unexpected — Westerners, particularly European races, are savage races; they appear well-groomed, wearing ties and cologne, but the same savage nature that has existed in history still exists in them; they easily kill people, commit murder coldly; therefore, beating women in the home by them and then by the Americans is of no consequence — but in an Islamic environment, such a thing should not be imagined at all; but unfortunately, it exists. Therefore, these two points are the main points; in my opinion, whatever planning is done in these areas is warranted.

After these two issues, there are other important matters: the issue of marriage and escaping from celibacy. The obstacles to marriage must be identified. The same works that the ladies mentioned they are doing, and I was truly pleased that, thanks be to God, these issues are being addressed. The issue of covering, the issue of interaction, truly a fundamental work must be done in this regard. The issue of financial and legal support for deprived or oppressed women, now the issue of courts, which was one of my concerns, that the lady from Khorasan Razavi mentioned that this work has been done in the judiciary there; we hope that this work will truly have tangible realization; one of my concerns is that women in judicial environments and court environments do not have the ability to defend themselves properly; they neither have the money to hire a proper lawyer nor can they defend themselves, and they become victims; this is one of the important things that must be pursued. The issue of women's employment, the limits of employment, what kind of work, in what manner — the same flexibility we mentioned regarding employment issues — all these are works that must be done; but more urgent than all these is the two issues I mentioned first.

One of the things that occupies my mind is that all these various activities regarding women and the issue of women in the country — from legal and jurisprudential issues to social issues, to executive issues, to emotional issues, all these various topics regarding women must take on a systematic form; it must have a general geometry. Of course, some reports that have been given to me or what has been said here indicate that some thought has been given in this regard, but in my opinion, a comprehensive work must be done in this regard. We must depict all the issues of women in a complete systematic form, with a correct geometry; a high and stable center must also be established with strong personnel and a long-term vision — I have no belief in short-term work in this important area — then under this high and stable center, appropriate institutions and foundations for various sectors must be formed; they must be informed about the works and there must also be a suitable information bank, that is, currently there are many works that even the ladies present in this session may not be aware of some of each other's works. Well, thanks be to God, we have wise and elite women in various sectors, with different perspectives, we must utilize this vast collection.

One more point — since time is short and it is noon, I will mention it as the last point — is that active women in the revolutionary front played a prominent role one day — both shortly before the victory of the revolution, and in the early days of the revolution, and during the imposed war — and showed a remarkable presence; do not let the prominent presence of active women in the revolutionary front diminish. Others, in confronting the revolution and opposing the revolution, try to utilize the element of women and capable women; the revolutionary front has far more capable, active, eloquent, writing, and scholarly women; women who are proactive, thoughtful, writing, speaking, and providing ideas, do not leave the scene of the revolution and defense of the revolution empty; this is one point. And I will complete and conclude the last point with this sentence that for the advancement of what we are discussing regarding women and what we hear from you and what is being thought about, the media must play a one hundred percent role. We believe this and recommend it; the media must play a one hundred percent role; it can; the media can create such a culture that the believing, active, jihadist woman in the path of God, with hijab, possessing the characteristics of an Islamic woman, is respected and honored in society; others want the opposite to happen. Some programs of the media, unfortunately, are in the same direction as others; the opposite must happen; that is, the media must truly be one hundred percent in service to this thought.

In any case, what can be summarized as a compilation of the works is that, thanks be to God, we have made progress regarding women's issues in the Islamic Republic system, but this progress is not commensurate with the needs, not commensurate with expectations, not commensurate with the possibilities that exist in Islam; we have backwardness. God willing, you ladies must compensate for this backwardness in the best possible way.

May God, God willing, keep you safe. May He increase your successes day by day and may we be able to move closer to what is desirable in Islam in this regard.

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