Message to the Congress of 'Seven Thousand Martyr Women of the Country'

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a message to the Congress of 'Seven Thousand Martyr Women of the Country', described the role of Iranian Muslim women in introducing a new model of 'woman' as historic. He noted the emergence of thousands of women, with a spirit reminiscent of Karbala, in the Islamic Revolution and the Sacred Defense, emphasizing that a new power and attraction has emerged thanks to the blood of these martyr women, which will sooner or later influence the fate and status of women worldwide.

The text of the Supreme Leader's message, which was read this afternoon (Wednesday) by Hojjatoleslam and Muslims Rahimian, the representative of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist at the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, is as follows:

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

Today, you have gathered here to honor the army of thousands of martyr women who played a worthy role in changing the course of the history of Islam and the country, and proudly went to the presence of the Exalted God. An army of angels who sacrificed their sacred lives for Islam; they were not mere spectators but stepped into the field of action and appeared as architects of a new Iran. These were great women who presented a new definition of 'woman' to the East and the West.

In the predominantly Eastern definition, women were seen as peripheral and without a role in making history; and in the predominantly Western definition, they were introduced as beings whose gender overshadows their humanity, serving as sexual objects for men and in the service of new capitalism. The lion-hearted women of the Revolution and the Sacred Defense demonstrated that the third model is 'a woman who is neither Eastern nor Western.' The Iranian Muslim woman opened a new chapter before the eyes of women worldwide, proving that one can be a woman, chaste, veiled, and noble, while also being central and active. One can maintain the sanctity of the family while also creating new strongholds in the political and social arenas, bringing about great victories. Women who combined the peak of feminine emotion, kindness, and mercy with the spirit of jihad, martyrdom, and resistance, courageously conquered the most masculine fields with their bravery, sincerity, and self-sacrifice.

In the Islamic Revolution and during the Sacred Defense, women emerged who can globalize the definition of woman and her presence in the realm of personal growth and refinement, in the realm of maintaining a healthy home and balanced family, and in the realm of social guardianship, jihad, enjoining good and forbidding wrong, and social jihad, breaking down major deadlocks.

A new power and attraction has emerged thanks to the blood of these martyr women in the new era, which has initially influenced women in the Islamic world and will sooner or later affect the fate and status of women globally.

As long as the radiant sun of Khadijah al-Kubra (peace be upon her), Fatimah al-Zahra (peace be upon her), and Zainab al-Kubra (peace be upon her) shines, the old and new plans 'against women' will not succeed. Our thousands of Karbala women have not only shattered the dark lines of apparent oppression but have also exposed and disgraced modern oppressions against women, demonstrating that the right to divine dignity for women is the highest right that has never been recognized in the so-called modern world, and today is the time for its recognition. I congratulate the families of these noble martyrs and hope that thanks to the blood of these honorable and martyr women, media, artists, intellectuals, and filmmakers can showcase the great jihad of the Iranian Muslim woman to a world that is in dire need of recognizing it.

The Iranian Muslim martyr woman will be the second teacher for women worldwide after the first teacher, who were the martyr women of the early Islam.

God's peace be upon the great lady of Islam, Lady Fatimah al-Zahra, and upon all the great women of early Islam and upon the self-sacrificing and devoted women of Islamic Iran.

Seyyed Ali Khamenei

15 Esfand 1391