New Delhi: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has implemented tough rules for women even in the 21st century has started "guiding" the society over "what is women and how a woman should be treated. In a series of social media posts, Khamenei compared women to "flowers" and said they are as delicate as "buds" and added they need more care at home. "A woman is a delicate flower and not a housemaid. A woman should be treated like a flower in the home. A flower needs to be cared for. Its freshness and sweet scent should be benefited from and used to perfume the air," read the post of the Iranian supreme leader.
Further, elaborating on the role of a woman in society, Khamenei opined that both men and women have different roles in the family and added men are responsible for income generation while a woman should take care of the child at home. However, he emphasised that doesn't mean a man should enjoy superiority. A woman and a man together are a couple. They complete each other and were created for one another. This is clearly stated in the #Quran, "Allah has made mates for you from among yourselves" [42:11]," he said.
Women are responsible for childbearing
"Women and men have different roles in the family. For example, the man is responsible for the family's expenses, while the woman is responsible for childbearing. This doesn’t imply superiority. They have different merits, and the rights of men & women aren’t calculated based on these," said Khamenei. "Men & women are equal in their pursuit of the good & pure life, which is the purpose of human beings’ creation, & neither is superior to the other. The Quran states, "Whoever acts righteously, male or female, & is a believer, to him/her We will give a good & pure life" [16:97]," he added.
Iran pauses the process to implement a new, stricter headscarf law for women
Interestingly, the statements from Khamenei came Iran paused the process of implementing a new, stricter law on women’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, an official said — a bill that many believe could have reignited the protests that engulfed the Islamic Republic after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini. The controversial law, which was approved by the parliament in September 2023, will not be sent to the government as planned this week, according to one of the country's vice presidents. The development effectively means that Iran has halted enacting the legislation.
The law levies harsher punishments for women who refuse to wear the hijab and for businesses that serve them, penalties previously rejected by Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian as he tries to restart talks with the West over sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program. “According to the discussions held, it was decided that this law will not be referred to the government by the parliament for now,” Shahram Dabiri, the vice president in charge of parliamentary affairs, was quoted as saying in an interview Monday with the pro-reform Ham Mihan daily. The decision to halt the legislation — at least temporarily — was reached by top executive, legislative and judiciary bodies, Dabiri also said. At the moment, it is “not feasible to implement this bill,” he added, without elaborating.
(With inputs from agency)
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