The True Identity of Women

By Sayyed Ali Khamenei

Part 2

Luring women towards luxury and consumerism

There are certain kinds of oppression that have been imposed on women and they are recognized as oppression. There are also certain kinds of oppression that are not recognized as oppression, but they are genuine oppression - such as enticing women towards luxurious lifestyles, consumerism and pointless and expensive makeup, and encouraging them to become a product for consumption, which constitute great oppression to women. One may say no kind of oppression is more serious than these latter kinds of oppression because they make women completely ignore and give up the goal and ideal of perfection, keeping them busy with small and trivial things. This was what the oppressive system of monarchy did, something that should have been stopped. Of course, the situation was very good at the beginning of the Revolution, but later on the issue was neglected on certain occasions and it is necessary to make careful plans in this regard.

That wrong western education caused Iranian women to develop a tendency towards wearing cosmetics, indulging in luxurious lifestyles, putting on pointless makeup and showing off their beauty.

Dragging girls and women out of the family environment and submerging them in corruption

During the time of Shah Regieme, women would travel to different places with different delegations, but their presence have only a ceremonial purpose. The purpose was to show their faces and bodies to this and that person. But today the presence of Muslim women in different international meetings and conferences and in dit1erent scientific and academic centers is for scholarly, political or service purposes. These things are valuable. At that time they used to drag certain girls out of the warm and modest arms of the family and call them "Miss Iran" only to submerge them in the cesspit of corruption.

Western clothes and the banning of hijab were the first souvenirs that the thuggish Reza Khan brought to Iran from the West. And he imposed these things on the people of Iran with his trademark use of coercion and bayonets. He forced the people to wear short clothes and a special type of hat, and later on he changed his mind about the hat and ordered that the people must only wear what was known at that time as the Pahlavi hat. If somebody dared wear another type of hat or long clothes, they used to beat him up and banish him. These were the kind of things that they adopted from the West. Women were not allowed to wear hijab. It was not just the chador because it had already been banned. Even if a woman wore a headscarf, they used to beat her up. Why? Because women did not wear headscarves in the West. These were the kind of things that they imported from the West.

Undermining the moral foundation of the country

Do you know what the situation of our country was before the Revolution? Do you know how they undermined the moral foundations of this nation for fifty years in a deliberate and persistent way? Do you know what they did to Iranian women and girls? If you knew these things, you would understand how valuable it is to have a righteous and spiritual young generation, including both girls and boys.

Today the number - both the absolute number and the proportion of woman researchers, woman professors, woman scientists in different fields, woman intellectuals and writers who write and present their ideas in different areas, woman poets, woman artists, woman storytellers and woman painters is far more than the time of Shah Regime, namely the time when they had completely annihilated hijab, modesty and the distance between men and women in the name of supporting women and they were promoting immoral behavior on a daily basis.

In certain cases their actions were even worse and more radical than European countries.

Promoting decadence among women

They used to force women to use their physical appeal and attraction in order to create a false character for themselves. This was decadence for women, not improvement or progress. Is it possible to commit a bigger crime against a woman than keeping her busy with cosmetics, fashion, physical appeal, clothes, gold and jewelry, using her as an instrument to further different goals and not letting her enter the arena of politics, ethics and education? This was what the Pahlavi regime used to do with accurate plans.

Anti-Islamic clothing and behavior of women in different environments

Whenever one visited a certain environment during the time of Shah Regime, one felt that everything was anti-Islamic in that environment. Pious and religious people were treated in a spiteful, cold or indifferent way. The behavior of women, the clothing of women, the behavior of men, the indecent actions of certain men and women: everything was un-Islamic.

Entering the realm of knowledge at the cost of giving up piety and Islamic dignity

In the self-loathing and evil monarchy, women were truly oppressed from all aspects. If a woman was determined to enter the realm of knowledge, she had to give up religious devotion, piety and modesty. It was not possible for a Muslim woman to easily observe hijab and preserve her dignity in universities, in educational environments and in scientific and cultural centers. It was not possible to do so. It was not possible for a religious woman to freely walk in the streets of Tehran and certain other cities while preserving her Islamic dignity and wearing even partial hijab. She could not do so without being verbally or physically insulted by immoral people and those who were intoxicated with corruption and immoral behavior, a souvenir from the West. They had made it impossible for most women to acquire knowledge in this country. I am not speaking about the exceptions. In general it was not possible for women to enter the realm of knowledge unless they agreed to give up hijab and their Islamic piety and dignity.

The same was true of the arena of politics and social activities. If a woman was determined to achieve a social or political position during the time of monarchies in Iran; she had to give up hijab, modesty and Islamic dignity. Of course, this depended on the character and capacities of the woman.

Women who wore hijab were exposed to ridicule during the time of Shah Regime

During the time of Shah Regime, only a few women and girls used to wear hijab in universities and they used to be ridiculed. That treatment was inhuman, indecent and wrong because one must not ridicule and sling mud at what one does not agree with. And this is exactly what western media are doing today.

In our universities and in Shahid Beheshti University in particular, there were a number of religious youth. You would recognize some of the names if I told you their names. Some of them were my friends or relatives. We would gather in this university - which was called "The National University of Iran" at that time - and they would tell me certain things about the conditions of universities. First of all, there was not even a small place for praying let alone for religious ceremonies. They had gathered money and built a small place for praying. But the government would not let such things happen. This was the case with Shahid Beheshti University, whose students were mainly from aristocratic and rich families. It was the center of corruption and immorality. The same was true of other universities as well. Pious students and professors were really under pressure in universities. The same was true of our society at large. A woman who wanted to observe hijab - not wear a chador and cover her face, but just wear partial hijab - could not walk in the streets.

Chapter 3: Women in Islam and Islamic Civilization The capacity and capability of women for achieving high spiritual positions

In such a world the Holy Prophet (PBUH) raised a daughter who improved so much that the Messenger of God (PBUH) would kiss her hand. Kissing the hand of Fatima Zahra (SA) must never be interpreted as a sign of the Holy Prophet's (PBUH) fatherly love for her. It is absolutely wrong to think that he would kiss her hand simply because she was his daughter and he loved her. Why would such a great character - whose sense of justice and wisdom originated from divine revelations and divine inspiration - bow down and kiss the hand of his daughter? Because of fatherly love? No, the reason was something else. The Holy Prophet's (PBUH) decision to kiss the hand of Fatima Zahra (SA) shows that his young daughter, who was only 18-25 years old when she passed away, was at the peak of human spirituality and that she was an extraordinary person. This is the Islamic view of women. This is what you should go after, both in cultural, social and intellectual issues, which is a responsibility of the ladies who are members of the socio-cultural Council for Women, and in education, which is what you scholarly ladies are after.

Islam has offered the highest position to women and has required them to move towards this position, having prepared the way through the value system and the rules. Western culture and the ideology that forms its foundation cannot separate the character of women from passions, carnal desires and frivolous entertainments even if they manage to offer the same position to women. Of course, materialistic views lack the horizons that are inherent in spiritual views. On the contrary, western culture and ideology base their judgment about communities and beliefs on the inseparability of women's character from carnal desires, human passions and frivolous entertainments.

Confronting wrong and misguided views of women

Contrary to what has always existed in royal systems, which consider women from a completely different perspective, Islam offers dignity to women. When providing examples of believers, the Holy Qur’an mentions the names of two women. "And God sets forth, as an example to those who believe, the wife of Pharaoh." [The Holy Qur’an, 66: 11] And the second example is "Mary the daughter of Imran" [The Holy Qur’an, 66: 12]. The Holy Qur’an mentions the names of two women as examples of those who believe. Similarly, the examples of those who disbelieve are also two women: "Allah sets forth, for an example to the unbelievers, the wife of Noah and the wife of Lut." [The Holy Qur’an, 66: 10] That is to say, the Holy Qur’an mentions the names of women not only as role models for women but also as role models for the entire society. Allah the Exalted could have mentioned the name of a man, but mentioning the names of two women is an effort to counter the wrong and misguided view of women.

Women: Qur’anic examples of outstanding human beings

There have been many discussions about the Islamic view of women and I have spoken in this regard on many occasions. I have repeatedly said that in the Holy Qur’an women have been mentioned as examples of believers and disbelievers. This is an interesting point.

Allah the Exalted mentions the names of two women as examples of outstanding and pious human beings - not examples of outstanding and pious women. That is to say, as far as human qualities and spiritual perfection are concerned, when Allah the Exalted wants to mention outstanding examples, He does not refer to prophets, great men and scholarly and religious personalities; rather He mentions the names of two women.

Regarding the issue of men and women, divine revelations contain important messages. Let us see what divine revelations say in this regard. Revelations have not been limited to lecturing. Instead they have attempted to present role models. Notice that when Allah the Exalted wants to put forth examples of pious human beings in the history of prophet hoods, He says, "And God sets forth, as an example to those who believe the wife of Pharaoh." [The Holy Qur’an,66: 11]There were so many believers who lived during the time of Prophet Moses. There were so many people who made efforts and sacrifices on the path of religious faith. But God mentions the name of woman. What is the reason? Does Allah the Exalted want to support women? Or is the issue something else? The issue is that the woman whose name is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an was at the peak of spiritual transcendence and she was the only qualified example. This was before Fatima Zahra (SA) had been born. This was before the Virgin Mary (SA) had been born. The wife of Pharaoh was neither a prophet, nor the daughter of a prophet, nor the wife of a prophet, nor a member of a prophet's family. Spiritual education and development of a woman can help her reach such a position.

Considering womanhood as valuable and avoidance of comparing women with men

We need to have a comprehensive view of women and this comprehensive view exists in Islam. Considering the essence of womanhood as valuable is a great sign of respect for women and this is a principle in Islam. Being similar to men is not at all considered a virtue for women, just as being similar to women is not considered a virtue for men. Men and women have their own roles to play. They have their own positions and nature. In the wise system of creation, there are different purposes behind the creation of men and women, and these purposes have to be fulfilled. This is an important issue.

Playing a significant role in the family and in educating future generations

The reason why Islam attaches so much importance to the role of women in the family is that future generations of a society will develop and improve if women who live in that society are committed to their families, if they are interested in their families, if they care about raising children, if they attend to the needs of their children, if they breastfeed their children, if they raise their children in their arms, if they use every opportunity to provide cultural nourishment for their children - such as Islamic narrations, divine rules, Qur’anic stories and instructional stories. This is the genius of women and it is not at all in conflict with studying, teaching, working and entering the arena of politics and other such areas.

Advice to children: serve your mother more than your father

Islam has put women ahead of men in certain cases. For example, children have been advised to serve their mother more than their father. Mothers playa more important role in raising children and as a result, children have a heavier responsibility towards their mother.                      To be continued