Women were truly and in all dimensions underprivileged in the society of the self-surrendered evil monarchical regime. If a woman wanted to enter the academia, she was obliged to relinquish her religion, piety and decency. A Muslim woman could not easily retain her hijab, decency and dignity in the universities, academia, scientific and cultural centers. It was impossible! A Muslim woman could not, in the streets of Tehran and some other cities, walk with Islamic dignity and decency, even with a partial hijab, without being harassed and molested by some vulgar people obsessed with the corruption and immorality brought to us from the West. They had created a situation in which it was generally impossible for women to acquire knowledge.
There existed some exceptions. But generally speaking, women could not enter the academia, except by removing their veil and relinquishing Islamic piety and dignity! The same was true in the social sphere. If a woman wanted to acquire a position in the society or politics during monarchical Iran, she had to relinquish hijab, dignity, decency and grace of a Muslim woman. Yet, it also depended on her innate qualities and essence. If she was very weak-spirited, she would slide down to the depth [of indecency]. If she was self-restraint, she could preserve herself to some degrees, but she was constantly facing increased pressures from the social environment. Our society was like that[...]
In the previous regime, a great number of women were illiterate and ignorant of social affairs—that is, they would not be allowed to obtain information. Women had grown indifferent toward the fate of the country, as they didn’t even know that women could play a role in the future of the country. Nevertheless, they looked like European women in their appearances and some had even surpassed European standards [in dressing revealingly]. When you saw them you would think they had just entered Iran from a European country and a Western environment. However, if you started to speak with them, you could readily notice they were not very educated if literate at all. They forced women to create a false identity for themselves by attracting eyes toward themselves and flaunting. This was a deviation for a woman; not an advancement. Is there a bigger crime against a woman, than to make her preoccupied with makeup, fashion, clothes, gold, and other accessories and take advantage of her as a means for achieving various goals, not letting her enter arenas of politics, ethics, and education? This is what was being done in the previous regime with precise planning.
January 16, 1990
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