Women are flowers, not housemaids, says Khamenei whose Iran is curbing their rights

“A woman is a delicate flower and not a housemaid,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted on Wednesday, even as women are fighting for their rights under his regime in the Islamic Republic.

Several women have hit the streets, particularly after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022, and have defied the strict hijab laws in protest against the authoritarian regime of Khamenei.

“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 benefitted from and used to perfume the air,” Khamenei said.

In this context, Khamenei’s portrayal of women as “flowers” rings hollow. While the statement celebrates women’s dignity and contributions, in reality, women in Iran face repression and restrictions.

Amid the condition of women’s rights under his regime, Khamenei made another tweet today, defining gender roles for men and women, and how it doesn’t imply superiority.

“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’re different merits, and the rights of men and women aren’t calculated based on these,” he said in a tweet.

Khamenei’s regime has been mercilessly cracking down on them, inviting the wrath of human rights organisations and countries, like the US, who have called on Tehran to cease their actions on the so-called ‘delicate flowers’ or face sanctions.

Significantly, Khamenei made the remarks on the day when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1979. CEDAW is a comprehensive international instrument that aims to achieve equality between women and men. And it’s often called the ‘Women’s Bill of Rights’.

WOMEN SUBJECTED TO REPRESSION IN GARB OF HIJAB LAW
Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the new government, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, which severely curtailed women’s rights. The compulsory hijab became law, and women were required to cover themselves in public. This was just the beginning of a series of restrictive measures that would shape the lives of Iranian women for decades to come.

The death of Amini in 2022, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the hijab law, sparked massive protests across the country. The slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” became a rallying cry as women and men alike demanded fundamental changes to the laws that govern their lives. These protests were met with brutal force, resulting in hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of arrests.

Two years since Amini’s death, the Iranian authorities have intensified their efforts to suppress the growing dissent of women. Following a directive from Khamenei himself, the morality police have launched a new campaign named ‘Noor’ or light, aimed at enforcing the compulsory hijab with renewed vigour.

This draconian campaign has led to a significant increase in street patrols, with morality police, traffic police, and other state entities aggressively targeting women who refuse to wear the hijab. Women who defied the hijab laws were met with several punitive measures, including unlawful detentions, bank account freezes, car confiscations and even university denials.

Recently, Iranian authorities arrested Parastoo Ahmadi, a 27-year-old singer, after she posted a virtual concert on YouTube in which she performed without wearing a hijab. Not only that, Iranian police also shot 31-year-old Arezou Badri, for ‘showing her hair in public while driving’, leaving her paralysed. According to the police, she had fled an attempted vehicle impoundment related to a headscarf violation.

IRAN RANKS LOW IN GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX

No wonder Iran is consistently ranked very low in the Global Gender Gap Report released by the World Economic Forum every year. This year, the Islamic Republic was ranked 143rd out of total 146 countries.

Rashid Khan, a Congress leader, also tweeted on Wednesday, “In conclusion, while the sentiment might come from a place of wanting to treasure and respect women, it’s essential to consider how such views align with contemporary understandings of gender equality, autonomy, and mutual respect in relationships. Modern relationships increasingly strive for partnership where responsibilities and care are shared based on mutual agreement rather than gender-specific roles.”

Despite the escalating repression, Iranian women continue to show remarkable resilience and determination, with many adopting civil disobedience as a form of peaceful protest, discarding the hijab as a potent symbol of defiance against the Islamic Republic’s oppression. This revolution has seen more and more women taking to the streets without covering their hair, a gesture that has become increasingly normalised in the face of overwhelming state violence.

Amid this, Khamenei has claimed that women’s protests against his regime are engineered by Iran’s enemies. He has also said that Iranian women were being influenced by foreign powers to launch movements aimed at toppling his regime.

The struggle of thousands of Iranian women is one of resilience and resistance, as they continue to fight for their rights and freedoms in the face of a system that seems determined to curtail them.