It all started with a comment linking women to a flower following a row over women’s dress code. He described the role of women as managers of the home and “not a servant,” and the tweet got blanched into major headlines of news portals and trends on X.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday, just a day after, in a rare public rebuke, Iran’s conservative-controlled parliament accused the judiciary of not adequately enforcing the compulsory hijab rules, took to X and posted, “Women are the managers of the home, not servants for you to say, ‘Why didn’t you do this? Why didn’t you do that? Why isn’t the house clean?” A woman is like a flower. A flower must be cared for and protected, and she will enrich you with her color, fragrance, and qualities.”
The remarks were made ahead of addressing a public gathering at Imam Khomeini Hussainiya in Tehran to mark National Mothers’ Day, where thousands of Iranian women and girls had gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the eve of the birth anniversary of the daughter of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Fatima al-Zahra.
Furthermore, in his remarks, he, Khamenei, argued that a society’s primary responsibility is to guarantee “justice in social behavior and justice within the family” and said that women’s “security, dignity, and honor” should be preserved by women.
“Safeguarding a woman’s security, dignity, and honor is one of women’s rights. A woman’s dignity must be protected. The evil capitalist logic tramples on and destroys women’s dignity,” he said.
“The Islamic Republic has shown a Muslim woman observing the Islamic dress code can progress further than others in all areas & be influential both in society & at home. Guided by this view, our women have made great progress in numerous fields since the victory of the Revolution,” he further said.
Stating that Islam grants women a highly respected and equal place in society, Ayatollah Khamenei said, ““The West insists on exporting its culture regarding women. They even argue that if a woman observes hijab and sets these limitations for herself, she won’t be able to progress! The Islamic Republic has refuted that nonsensical logic.”
His posts also shifted to the United States, with Khamenei accusing American capitalism of causing what he described as the collapse of the family structure. “Fatherless children, eroding familial relationships, ruining the family structure, gangs preying on young girls, & increasing sexual promiscuity all under the name of freedom! Such corruption reflects the status of families in the West, & they label it ‘freedom!'” he posted.
“One of the gravest sins of Western capitalist logic and culture is that they deceitfully label corruption and promiscuity as “freedom.” And when they try to spread that culture, they say, “We’re liberating you!” But in fact, they’re enslaving people,” he added.
Women in Iran have in recent years been increasingly snubbing the hijab dress code ahead of the nationwide protests following the September 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
The 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian had been detained for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women. Her death ignited months of nationwide unrest in which hundreds—including dozens of security personnel—were killed and thousands arrested in what authorities described as foreign-instigated “riots.”
Despite the fallout, Iran’s government has declined to ratify a 2023 parliamentary bill that sought to impose harsher penalties on women who defy the mandatory hijab or dress codes.
For more than ten years, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s official English-language X account (@Khamenei_ir) has followed an almost liturgical calendar on the subject of women. Every March, around International Women’s Day and the birthday of Fatima Zahra, and every December, near the birth anniversary of Jesus and Mary or Iran’s own Day of the Mother, the same themes return with striking consistency: motherhood is exalted as the supreme honor and the path to paradise (“Paradise lies beneath the feet of mothers”), women are described as “delicate flowers, not housemaids” who deserve affection rather than servitude, and Western feminism is repeatedly condemned as a century-old capitalist deception that promised liberation but delivered low-wage factory labor and the commodification of female bodies
“Try to be one of the country’s outstanding women. How? Study your lessons well, do your homework well, work, think, and read books so that, God willing, you may be one of the great women in the country in the future.” he posted on 4 February 2023
Commenting on the roles of women he posted on 18 December 2024
#Women & 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’re different merits, & the rights of men & women aren’t calculated based on these.
On 16 April 2023 he said, “The West has no mercy for Iranian women. They even hold a grudge against them because if it wasn’t for the presence of women, the Islamic Revolution wouldn’t have succeeded.
The West isn’t worthy of defending women’s rights. Right now, women in the West face major problems”
On March 8 , 20203 he said, “Women are stronger than men. Women can completely control and influence men with their wisdom and delicacy. May 11, 2013”
A #woman is the air that fills the atmosphere in a #family. Just as you would not be able to breathe if there was no air in the environment, that is how it would be if there was no woman in your family.
On Jan 8, 2023, he said, “It is truly impossible to manage a family without a woman being present & her endeavors. Sometimes there are problems in a family that cannot be resolved without the gentle touch of a woman. No matter how strong & capable a man is, he cannot solve some of these problems.”
In an Islamic setting, women grow scientifically & morally, pioneer in key social events while maintaining their femininity. West pushed women away fr femininity & ruined families. Today a major problem in West is rise of children w/unknown fathers. This leads to their collapse.
Ayatollah Khamenei Widely Mocked for Posts on Women
Amidst his spate of tweets about women, Ayatollah has been widely mocked on X.
“I regret to inform you that Ayatollah Khamenei is tradition-posting on main,” said Noah Smith.
“In Iran, women can be imprisoned or flogged if they have the audacity to show their hair in public. Please spare the world your silly platitudes about what is ‘totally unjust,” posted Billy Binion.
“There are a lot of problems with this message coming from this, uh, particular messenger, but it’s also a fun opportunity to remind you that the ‘gender pay gap’ in America is entirely due to married men crushing it. Everyone else is basically equal,” added GOP strategist Logan Dobson.
