TEHRAN – Changing women’s identification and using them as tools for the pleasure of men are two important issues that can be seen in the Western approach toward women.

The Western discourse regarding the issue of women is a very calculated and political view. The day when this thought and discourse about women was formed in the West, there was a precise calculation behind it.

Since the beginning of the Renaissance in the West and the emergence of industrialism and the development of new industries there, the discourse has gradually grown.

The Western discourse on the issue of women has different dimensions, but it has two distinct dimensions.

One of the important dimensions of the Western discourse is to change women's identity. The discourse wants to give them a masculine identity and make them behave like men.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in one of his speeches pointed to the Western view of women, saying, “They wanted to give women a masculine identity. That is to say, they were trying to make women do jobs that are more compatible with the physical and intellectual characteristics of men. They consider it as a source of honor and they would like to describe it as an advantage and a source of honor for women. We have adopted a passive outlook in the face of this. We have been deceived and we have unwillingly and unknowingly accepted this...”

“The position, identity, and characteristics of women are very noble and respectable. This identity is, in certain ways, superior to men's identity. If we adopt a comprehensive outlook, we see that men and women have no differences. Certain privileges have been granted to women and certain other privileges have been granted to men and this is based on their natural characteristics which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on them. Allah the Exalted has given each gender certain characteristics. Each gender benefits from certain outstanding qualities. Therefore, they have no differences in terms of human qualities. They have no differences in terms of the privileges which Allah the Exalted has bestowed on humanity such as human rights, social rights, spiritual values, and spiritual perfection,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted. (May 11, 2013)

Making women a tool for the pleasure of men is another dimension of Western discourse. The Western viewpoints of women lead to the emergence of some movements like feminism which have become popular in the world today. These are the consequences of what Western discourse has done.

Pointing to the insulting attitude of Western civilization toward women as being tools, the Leader on the same day said, “As for the second dimension of Western discourse - in which women are made to prepare the ground for men to indulge in pleasure - it struck defenseless Islamic countries like a flood with the purpose of helping men to easily indulge in sexual pleasure. And this was done by the West. It also struck our country. By pleasure, I do not mean spiritual, psychological, or scientific pleasure. Two people may sit and enjoy speaking to one another or increasing each other's knowledge. But this is not the case in Western pleasure. Fortunately, the Revolution came and it prevented this to a great extent. This should be prevented because this is a big danger and a big disaster. The issue of hijab is one of the preconditions for this. The way we should dress and the way men and women should interact are among the preconditions for this issue. These things should be done so that this great disaster - for both men and women - can be prevented.”

Today, part of the political, social, and cultural planning of the West is openly dedicated to supporting the development of homosexuality among its own people and nations around the world. The denigration of the family concept by the leaders of the social policies of the West has reached a surprising level. In the history of human life, the definition of family has always been nothing other than the union of a woman and a man to give birth to children and grow them.

Now in the current century, the Western system is trying to transform this instinctive definition.

“Today, this issue is thoroughly discussed in the world. I know and I have read in a number of texts, newspapers, and books that Western intellectuals have started to feel fear and distress because of this condition. They are right, but they have understood this late. The issue of encouraging people to indulge in lust - which is centered around women - is not something of little importance. Today, you can see that the situation is getting worse in the world with issues such as homosexuality and marriages between two people of the same gender. These are great, deep, and dangerous abysses for Western civilization and for those who are managing this civilization. This is an unusual precipice and it will completely annihilate them. And they are just in the middle of the path of destruction,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. (May 11, 2013)