In a meeting with more than a thousand outstanding Muslim women from 85 countries who had participated in the International Conference on Women and Islamic Awakening, Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the conference is a good opportunity for women throughout the world of Islam to become acquainted with each other. He urged the participants to use the conference as a tool to launch an effective and permanent movement to revive the [Islamic] identity of Muslim women.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the west has been making comprehensive efforts over the past 100 years to isolate Muslim women from their Islamic identity, further stressing: "The efforts by outstanding women of the world of Islam to revive this identity are the greatest service to the Islamic Ummah. This is because sense of identity, awareness and insight among Muslim women will have a major effect on Islamic Awakening and the dignity and honor of the Islamic Ummah."
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the western view of women as insulting and stated: "Westerners consider women as a product and an instrument that men can benefit from and they have employed all their instruments and facilities to reach this goal, but in a hypocritical move, they have named this degenerate, flawed and misleading view "freedom", just as they choose deceptive names like freedom, human rights and democracy for crimes such as murder, plundering national sources of wealth, military operations and the waging of wars."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the Islamic view of women is the opposite of the western view and stressed that Islam brings about dignity and growth for women by giving them an independent identity.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the successful experiences of faithful Iranian women in different scientific, political and managerial areas and added: "In an Islamic environment, a woman achieves scholarly, personal, ethical and political growth and she is a pioneer in essential social issues, but she remains a woman."
His Eminence said that the western view of women has resulted in the breakup of the family and an increase in the number of abandoned children in western societies. He added: "The west will be harmed most on this front and it will collapse as a result of the social consequences."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that from an Islamic point of view, men and women enjoy the same human characteristics and added: "Allah the Exalted has bestowed different physical characteristics on men and women. And each of them plays a particular role in the growth and transcendence of mankind, but women's role is more important."
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the most important responsibility of outstanding Muslim women is to highlight the role of women from an Islamic point of view. Referring to the essential role that Iranian women have played after the Islamic Revolution, he said: "Women play a determining role in social developments, in revolutions and in Islamic Awakening because wherever women take part in a social movement with awareness, the progress and victory of that movement is guaranteed and this truth makes it absolutely necessary to preserve and strengthen women's presence in the developments of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and other parts of the world of Islam."
Ayatollah Khamenei described Islamic Awakening as an amazing and unparalleled movement and stressed that it can change the course of history.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution praised the Muslim nations that have carried out a revolution and added: "The arrogant powers - headed by America and Zionism - are astounded by this great movement and they are trying their best to curb this movement and ride its waves."
His Eminence said that the arrogant powers try to discourage the people of the regional countries from continuing their presence and keep them busy with internal conflicts in order to curb Islamic Awakening. He stressed: "If Muslim nations resist in the face of this plot and continue their presence on the scene, they will definitely defeat the arrogant powers because the sword of all the arrogant powers is blunt and ineffective against the people's presence and piety."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the enemies of Islam and Iran have been hatching plots since the victory of the Islamic Revolution and added: "There is a lot of western hype these days, but they do not understand that with the sanctions they have imposed over the past 30 years, they have vaccinated the Iranian nation against any sanctions."
Ayatollah Khamenei added: "Sanctions do not harm us. The people of Iran resisted. They resisted in the face of the enemy's machinations by sacrificing their wealth, their life and the life of their loved ones. Today we are a hundred times more powerful and more advanced than we used to be thirty years ago."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the advances that Iran has made in different areas and addressing outstanding Muslim women throughout the world of Islam, he said: "Today faithful Iranian women are proudly present in different areas of progress. The educated and outstanding women of our country are among the most pious and revolutionary Iranian women. The west is trying to distort this truth with thousands of propaganda tools."
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the failed efforts by the west to discourage the Islamic Republic from supporting the Palestinian nation and stressed that the Islamic Republic will continue supporting the Palestinian nation and other Muslim nations.
He added: "By Allah's favor, we will stand by the Palestinian nation. We will stand by the Muslim nations that have carried out a revolution. We will stand by the oppressed people of Bahrain. We will stand by all those who are opposed to America and Zionism. We are standing firm and we support them. And in this regard we will not take the interests of any individual or any power into consideration."