Iran's Islamic system has made great efforts to elevate the status of women and allow them to regain their rightful position in society, but there is still much more to do, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said, Tehran Times reported.
The Leader made the remarks in Tehran on Sunday during a meeting with hundreds of female professors, seminary teachers, and intellectuals, two days ahead of the auspicious birth anniversary of Hazrat Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, which is Women's Day in Iran. It is also Mother's Day in the Islamic Republic.
"Many efforts have been made in the Islamic system to (help) women regain their rightful position, but women are still facing many problems, especially in their family life, and these problems should be resolved through making the necessary laws and taking practical measures," he said.
He also noted that the Islamic system has prepared the ground for the emergence of learned, cultured, and educated women.
Commenting on the West's attitude toward women, the Leader stated that this attitude should be openly criticized.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran should openly, seriously, and incessantly criticize the West's wrong attitude toward women and fulfill its obligation to uphold the dignity and true status of women," he said.
The problems women are facing in the modern world are the consequence of the West's wrong attitude toward and misunderstanding of women's status and dignity, he added.
Based on this wrong attitude, in Western societies men are allowed to abuse women and if women want to be in the limelight and reach high positions, they must try to please men, the Leader said.
"This insulting attitude is the greatest injustice to women," he opined.
He went on to say that the Western strategists and policymakers have begun organized efforts to promote this wrong culture, and along those lines, their propaganda machine is creating a commotion about the groups that are trying to uphold moral standards and safeguard the dignity of women.
The Westerners are opposed to the Islamic women's dress code (hijab) because the observance of moral values runs contrary to the West's strategic policy toward women, he said.
As a result of this policy, family life has been undermined in the West, and the trafficking of women and children, cohabitation, and the birth of children out of wedlock are on the rise in the world, he added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader said that the theme of one of the next forums on strategic thoughts would be women and family life.
The most recent forum on strategic thoughts was held on May 17 in Tehran with the participation of a number of Iranian scholars. Justice was the theme of the forum.