TEHRAN – The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, has criticized the West’s approach toward women, saying it destroyed the dignity and honor of women.

The Leader made the remarks in a meeting with the participants in the “second national conference on the 8,000 martyrs of Hamedan Province.” 

The meeting took place in the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah on September 27. The statements of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution were later published on October 8. 

Following is the full text of the Leader’s speech posted on the Khamenei.ir:

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master, Muhammad, and his pure, immaculate, chosen Progeny, particularly the Remnant of God on earth.

You are very welcome here. I am sincerely happy that once again I have been given the opportunity to meet with a number of people in this Hussainiyah who have come from Hamedan Province, people in whom we can see “value” in various ways. I would like to especially welcome the dear families of the martyrs who are present here today.

I would like to thank the respected Friday prayer leader [of Hamedan] and General [Mazaher Majidi] for the statements and reports they presented. I would also like to appreciate the very good recitation of the Quran that was recited here and the beautiful anthem that you all sang together.

I would like to say a few words about Hamedan. During the great events of the Revolution and the Sacred Defense, Hamedan added to its honors. Organizations, cities, and provinces are tested in sensitive times just as individuals are, “Through changes in circumstances the mettle of men becomes known” (Nahjul Balagha, wisdom no. 217). The mettle of Hamedan Province – in both the city of Hamedan and in other cities – has shined throughout history. It shined even brighter during the Revolution and the Sacred Defense.

Historically speaking, Hamedan is the first center of civilization in our country. And historically, it is ahead of all the various civilized parts of the country. I spoke about this in more detail during a speech I had in Hamedan a few years ago. I don’t wish to repeat that now. However, when we go into its history, Hamedan is considered to be a center of science, a center of religion, a center of Jihad, a center of art, and a center of all the values ??of civilization in a country. When we look at history, we find that Hamedan has these features. These are all distinctions. Furthermore, there is the period when the Revolution took place. It is now time for a new test.

Many people have good backgrounds. However, when they are faced with a sensitive, dangerous situation, they give up. When we reached this sensitive point – the point where the Revolution took place – many cities and centers around the country proved themselves, and so did Hamedan. They pointed out that during the funeral of the late Akhund Molla-Ali Masoumi, a revolution truly took place in Hamedan. The people seized the town square under the pretext of the funeral of a great, respected scholar.

Then when we look at the various events that took place during the Revolution, we see that Hamedan is outstanding, Nojeh Airbase is outstanding, the pioneering youth of Hamedan were outstanding in their fight against the counter-revolutionaries and separatists in the early days of the Revolution. The first people who entered the field to confront the separatists in the western part of the country were from Hamedan and Kermanshah. Now when I mentioned the name of the Nojeh Airbase, I was referring to the time of the war. But even before the war, this airbase played a role in exposing a very dangerous coup that they wanted to launch from that base. The Nojeh Airbase played the most important role in the destruction of that large conspiracy.

Then, the Sacred Defense began. Hamedan shined once again during the Sacred Defense. It truly shined brightly! There was the proud army of Ansar al-Hussain, the famous martyrs of Hamedan. I have expressed my devotion to these dear people and mentioned their names many times already. There were great martyrs who were clerics at the level of Martyr [Mohammad] Mofatteh, Martyr [Ali] Qoddusi, and Martyr [Mohammad Ali] Heydari from Nahavand. These were the prominent martyrs who were clerics at this level. These are all remarkable. These are all important actions.

This conference was truly needed. Of course, you held a conference to honor and pay tribute to the martyrs of Hamedan a few years ago. I have noted that between that previous conference and this current conference, the following great men from the city of Hamedan and Hamedan Province have joined those bright stars: General Hossein Hamedani, Martyr Ali Khoshlafz, Martyr Mirza Mohammad Solgi, martyrs who were Defenders of the Holy Shrine who came from this province, and Martyr Ali Nazari who was martyred while safeguarding the country’s security.

So martyrs are still coming from this province. These personages are showing themselves one after another and standing out from the crowd. We must keep their names alive. Of course, the names of the martyrs do live on. What I mean is that when we make sacrifices in the way of God, these actions remain in the world, “As for the scum, it leaves as a worthless thing, and that which profits people remains in the earth” (Quran 13:17).

One of the characteristics of martyrdom and making sacrifices for the cause of God is that these are naturally eternal. This is true, but this does not mean that if opposing elements enter the field, they will not have an effect. They will, just like many other great values, where we have seen how opposing values entered the field, and the supporters of true values failed to stand up to them as they should have. Due to this, falsehood prevailed over truth. That’s how it is.

If you take a look at history, there were prophets, Godly people, and outstanding personages who were overpowered by falsehood because the righteous did not carry out their duties. What this means is that the martyrs are naturally eternal and being eternal is a part of martyrdom, but we also have a duty. We must keep the names of the martyrs alive. We must use the concept of martyrdom and the message of the martyrs to adorn our lives in the right way. We need to organize our collective life, both in our own society and in the global society. This can be done with the help of the martyrs and the impact they have.

I would like to speak about an active female combatant, the late Marzieh Dabbagh. The issue of women is an important issue in the world today. When it comes to women, we are not in a defensive position. I have said many times that we hold an offensive position against the Western world, not a defensive position. They are the ones who must answer for what they’ve done. They are the ones who have crushed the honor and dignity of women for their own desires. We don’t have any problems in this issue, but when the enemies line up against up, we must make a statement. We must show the truth.

This woman is one of the people who can show the truth about the role of women in an Islamic society. And this is not just in our Islamic Republic. Rather, this is also the case in the Islamic view, in Islamic logic, and in the Islamic culture. On the one hand, there was this woman’s struggles before the Revolution and the beatings, torture, and imprisonment that she suffered. There was also the effect she had on her cellmates and fellow prisoners. In addition to these, she later went to the battlefields and took part in guerilla activities. Then she went to Paris to serve Imam [Khomeini]. Later she entered the real, tangible field of the Revolution and was actively present in a wide range of activities.

At the beginning of the Revolution when I came to Hamedan, Mrs. Dabbagh was the commander of Hamedan’s corps. She would come and guide me through the regions that I visited. What this shows us is that a woman can be the commander of an army in an area dominated by men! There were plenty of men in Hamedan, but this is how valuable this woman was. She started as an army commander in Hamedan, and later she took Imam Khomeini’s letter to Gorbachev. That is, Mrs. Dabbagh was a member of the delegation that consisted of three people who took Imam’s message from Tehran to Moscow for Gorbachev. Can you see how broad her range of activities were? Even in her final years, she was active in the campaigns for Palestine, Lebanon, etc. She had grown old and frail, but she was still working. This is how an Islamic woman is.

I have always insisted on the arts being used for producing works on the martyrs. This woman appears to have died a natural death, but she is in fact like the martyrs. This one person can be the subject and content for many works of art. That is, she is an image of a woman in an Islamic system. The enemy has always been falsely accusing the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of being prejudiced against women. This is slander, which they have been saying since the beginning of the Revolution, even though there were so many prominent women who appeared during the Revolution but were absent prior to it.

To show the falsehood of this slander, the [life of the] late Mrs. Dabbagh is an example of the different forms of works in the arts that can be produced based on prominent Revolutionary women who are active in Revolutionary activities. This is the meaning of the quote from Imam Khomeini, “The martyrs are provisions for the Revolution.” This quote means that the life and the message of the martyrs can always be used as a provision for the life of the Revolution, for the advancement of the Revolution, and for the growth and ascension of the Revolution, the Islamic system, and the Islamic country.

The issue is the same regarding nationality and Islam as well. Since the beginning of the Revolution, a group of people have tried to say that nationalism, the name of Iran, and honoring Iran are in conflict with Islamic and Revolutionary concepts. They have tried to separate nationalism from being Islamic. The war, the Sacred Defense, and our dear martyrs clearly refuted these false chants with their actions. The war began, and this was a major test. The borders of the country were invaded and Iran was under attack. It was not just attacked by a single government or a neighboring country. It was an international attack in the true sense, as I have stated multiple times. 

Those who claimed to be Iranian patriots hid inside their homes out of their fear, and they were not willing to take a single step to defend the borders of their country. Some of them even fled the country. These are the same people who claimed to be patriots and supporters of Iran and nationalism! Who defended the borders of the country? The Muslims, those who prayed the night prayers, people like Martyr Chitsazian and Martyr Solgi, and the Ansar al-Hussain corps defended them. These are the people who defended [the country]. Islam defended the borders of Iran. Being Islamic and being Iranian are not two contradicting ideas. They are facts. Whoever becomes a supporter of Islam and whoever becomes a soldier of Islam, will naturally defend all values, including their nation and homeland. “The love of one’s country comes from faith,” [said the Holy Prophet]. This love comes from faith.

All of these are ideas that can be used in the arts. You see, when I mention these matters, it is for you who are active in these fields about the martyrs to increase your attention to this artistic point of view. These are all themes to be used in the arts. Writers can use their art in one way, theater actors in another way, and visual artists in another way. Thankfully, Hamedan is very rich in these talents. You have very good artists who can create great, valuable works.

Anyway, commemorating the brave believers who defend Islam, who defend Iran, who defend values, and who defend the value of women, is an important matter, and these are activities that God’s good servants like yourselves are in charge of doing. I hope that God will bless you with success and help you to do this in the best possible way, God willing.

I have heard that you hold separate commemoration ceremonies for different groups of martyrs, such as for martyrs who were university students, martyrs who were seminary students, and martyrs who were engineers. This is a very good thing. Give this your full attention and follow up on it too.  May God help you and make you influential in transferring the message of the martyrs to people’s hearts. Do not, in any way, be content with just doing formal work. Your goal should be to convey this message to the hearts of your audience, including today’s youth and teenagers. May God help you, may Imam Mahdi (pbuh) be pleased with you, and may the pure souls of the martyrs and Imam [Khomeini] be pleased with you, God willing.

May God’s greetings, mercy, and blessings be upon you.