The True Identity of Woman

By Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei

Chapter 1: Importance of Issue of Women

The Issue of women: one of the most fundamental issues in any society

The issue of women - which should be referred to as "the crisis of

Women" in the modern world - is one of the most fundamental issues in any civilizations, any society and any country.

Islamic communities' negligence of the Islamic view of women

Dear sisters, my dear daughters, I believe that if in a certain part of anIslamic society - whether in Iran or in certain other countries ­Muslim women have been neglected, this is partially the fault of men and partially the fault of women because primarily it is women who should recognize and defend the Islamic position of herself.

Ladies should know what judgment God, the Holy Qur’an and Islam have said about them. They should know what God, the Holy Qur’an and Islam expect from them and what have been specified as their responsibilities. They should defend and demand what Islam has ordered and demanded. If they fail to do so, those who are not committed to any value will feel free to oppress women.

Chapter 2: Historical Background

Wrong conceptions, analyses and thoughts about the position of women

Why has mankind generally had the wrong conception about the issue of men and women? I am surprised why this has been the case and why mankind wants to resist. Apart from the teachings of the divine prophets, in all human interpretations, analyses and thoughts, there is a wrong conception of the position of men and women. And the conception of the relationship between men and women is a wrong conception. Even in the case of the great ancient civilizations - such as the Roman and Persian civilizations - the conception of women was a wrong conception.

 

Establishing the right to pledge allegiance and ownership rights for women

In Islam women enjoy well-established ownership rights and the right to pledge allegiance and the ground has also been prepared for their presence in essential political and social arenas. "O Prophet, when believing women come to you giving you a pledge that they will not associate anything with Allah, and will not steal, and will not commit fornication, and will not kill their children, and will not bring a calumny which they have forged of themselves, and will not disobey you in what is good, accept their pledge." [The Holy Qur’an, 60: 12] Women would go to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and pledge allegiance to him. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) had never said that only men should pledge allegiance to him and force their wives to accept whatever decisions they make. He announced that women could also pledge allegiance to him. He announced that women should also have a say in accepting Islamic rule and the new social and political system. Westerners are 1300 years behind Islam in this regard and yet they make all those extravagant claims. The same is true of ownership as well as certain other social and political issues.

 

Effective presence in the battlefield, in the family and in society

During the early years after the introduction of Islam, women would treat the wounds of the wounded soldiers, a duty which was mainly carried out by women. They would cover their heads and fight with a sword in the battle fields as well. They would also take care of their children in the home environment and would raise them in an Islamic way and they would always observe their hijab. This is because none of these things are in conflict with each other.

 

The opportunity to achieve high scholarly positions

During the years when the western culture would humiliate women like that [denying them educational opportunities], in Islamic Iran "Banu-ye Esfahani" [literally the Isfahani Lady] had received permission from the top Islamic jurisprudents of her time to engage in Islamic jurisprudence. She would teach philosophy and fiqh (jurisprudence) in Isfahan at that time. This is what Islam is.

Violation of women's rights in the history of Europe

Of course, in the history of Europe there were women who could become queen. There were women who were among the nobility. But the issue of women is not limited to the situation of a certain woman or the situation of the women who came from certain families or social classes. These discriminations have always existed. There were certain women who could achieve high positions. For example, they could become Queen of England and they would pass on the advantages to their family and descendants. But this was not the case with women in general. Women did not enjoy any rights in society, which goes against the view of divine faiths - including Islam, which has been protected from distortion.

Deprivation from the most basic human rights until the early years of the 20^th century

In spite of all the claims that have been made and in spite of the widespread and growing opposition to hijab in the West and the unprincipled and uncontrolled sexual relationship between men and women - which are wrongly assumed to be a sign of respect for women - women did not have the right to freely use the wealth that belonged to them until the early years of the 20^th century. It was their husbands who had full control over their wealth. That is to say, when a woman got married, her wealth would pass on to her husband and she would lose her ownership rights. It was in the early years of the 20^th century that women had ownership and employment rights. That is to say, women were denied even the most basic human rights until the early years of the 20^th century.

 

Women used to be denied of suffrage and ownership rights in the West

Until the early years of this century - namely, until the 2^nd, 3^rd decades of the 20^th century - women did not enjoy genuine ownership rights in western countries. That is to say, a woman who got married could no longer have control over her wealth without the permission of her husband. Compare this with the principles of Islam, according to which women are independent.

Pay attention to the fact that in the western world and in European countries that make so many false claims in support of women's rights, not only were women deprived of the right to vote and express their opinions, but in many places they were also denied of ownership rights until the early decades of the 20^th century. That is to say, women did not even have the right to have control over the wealth they inherited: it was their husbands who could have control over their wealth.

The western world dragged women into decadence. Until 60, 70 years ago, women in European and western countries could only live under the domination of men - be it their husbands or other men such as owners of factories and farms. Women did not enjoy any of the basic rights that a human being should enjoy in a civilized society. They neither had suffrage and ownership rights, nor did they have the right to engage in trade. Later on they dragged women into the arena of social life and activities, but in the meantime they completely prepared the ground for women to stray. And they left women alone and unprotected in their societies.

You know that no women in any part of Europe had the right to vote until the 2^nd decade of this century. And wherever there was democracy, women did not have the right to have control over their wealth. From the 2^nd decade of the 20^th century - precisely, from the years 1916-1918 onwards - European countries gradually decided to give women the right to express their opinions, to have control over their wealth and to enjoy the same social rights as men. Therefore, Europe woke up very late. Europe realized the truth very late. It appears that Europe is determined to make up for lost time by creating uproar.

The need for cheap labor: a factor behind "women's freedom"

Since the day Europeans introduced the new industries - in the early years of the 19^th century when western capitalists established the big factories - and they felt the need for cheap labor, they started whispers of "women's freedom" in order to drag women from inside the home environment into the factories, provide cheap labor for themselves, line their own pockets and take dignity away from women. Today what is known as "women's freedom" in the western world is an effort to continue the same thing. Therefore, the oppression that western women have been exposed to and the wrong conception of women in the western culture and literature are unprecedented in the entire history of mankind. Previously women used to be oppressed every part of the world, but this widespread and comprehensive oppression is particular to the contemporary era and is the result of the western civilization.

 

Promoting immodesty in the early 20^th century

In Europe once a woman got married and moved in with her husband, not only her body but also whatever wealth and property she had received from her father and family were her husband's. This is a truth that westerners cannot deny ... When an extremist movement is started in order to promote the rights of women in such an atmosphere, naturally other extremist forces are introduced to counter its effects. As a result, such corruption and immoral behavior was introduced into western societies by "women's freedom" that even western intellectuals were terrified. Today wise western reformers and those who care about the well-being of western communities are terrified at what has been happening. They are sad about what has been happening, but they cannot stop it.

 

Lack of attention to the family and raising children from around 50 years ago

The situation of western women used to be different in the past. Since 30, 40, 50 years ago the situation of western women - especially in America and certain European countries - has been becoming worse on a daily basis. The day when western women started this wrong path [the path of neglecting the family and raising children], they did not think their society and country would be suffering from such a situation in 30, 40, 50 years, a situation in which 12-year-old children carry handguns and knives in their pockets in order to kill people during the day or at night in different corners of the streets of New York, London or other western cities whenever they find the opportunity, without taking anything into consideration. This is their situation now. This is what happens when the family breaks up.

 

Destruction of women's dignity and honor

We can see today that there is a lot of difference between the current situation of our women and their situation during the time of the oppressive Pahlavi regime. Nothing had been left for women at that time. They did not let women have anything called honor, hijab, dignity and purity, especially in large cities. Today's situation is not comparable with those times. Of course, there is no doubt that we need to improve this situation, but what we have already achieved today is not comparable with our situation at that time.

 

Overtaking the West in promotion of moral corruption and lack of hijab

Before the Islamic Revolution of Iran, during the late 1960s and the early 1970s - I provided evidence and pointed out to our youth during my speeches that our situation was worse than the situation of European countries in terms of immoral behavior, lack of hijab and moral corruption. That was the truth. I knew that for a fact.

I saw the situation of our society before the Revolution. At that time our country, our society and our women were heading towards a horrendous and dangerous situation. Because women in our country were imitating European women, in some cases their situation was even worse than the situation of European women: I had seen the photos, spoken to those who had travelled to Europe and read reports about the situation of European women. This was the kind of situation that they were promoting.

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