By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz

The Islamic Republic marked “National Women’s Day” and “Mother’s Day”, yesterday on the 20th of the lunar month of Jamadi al-Akher, the blessed birthday of the Noblest-ever lady of all times, with ceremonies throughout Iran as testimony to the lofty status of the Daughters of Eve in a sound, healthy, and morally upright society.
Women make up half of the population of the country and the designation of the blessed birth anniversary of Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), is indicative of the dignity and respect attached to innate feminine values by the Muslim nation of Iran, in contrast to the decadence that prevails in the West, where Saint Mary (SA) and her virtues are no longer a role model for societies entangled in promiscuity, lesbianism, and other unnatural practices on the pretext of ill-defined freedom and liberties.
Islamic Iran doesn’t violate the rights and rituals of non-Muslim minorities nor does it disrespect their girls and women as the politicians and media of the West do through their aversion to the Hijab, which is not exclusive to Muslim ladies, but was the dignified dressing of the feminine gender in Europe and is still worn by the nuns in the convents, churches, and seminaries, in the form of the wimple that covers their hair, neck, and chest.
Interestingly, many modern women in the West have been deeply impressed by the modest attire of their Muslim counterparts and have come to believe that virtue and not waywardness is the key to the real progress of societies and safeguards against disintegration of families.
Women form the nucleus of the family. It is women who bring up children and help build sound and healthy societies. As a matter of fact, the soundness of a society depends on the virtue of women and their faith.
In Iran, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), restored to women their natural rights that were trampled upon by the British-installed and US-backed Pahlavi regime and its imposition of the morally-lose western culture that treated virtuous and veiled women as law-breakers, since in those days, it was a fashion to insult one’s own femininity by dressing immodestly and indulging in immoral ways.
The words of that Sage of the Age continue to ring in our ears:
“Islam grants woman a say in all affairs, just as it grants man a say. Women from the Islamic point of view enjoy a dignified position; they have free will just as men have. God created them free beings and gave them dignity; He has laid down laws to prevent them from corruption which is for their benefit.
“Could any Muslim agree with this scandalous uncovering of women? The women of Iran have risen up against the Shah and delivered a punch to his mouth with the cry: We don’t want to be forced into immorality. We want to be free.”
As oil-wealth and western experts brought vices and the vilification of women to the Iranian society, the people rose up against the Pahlaví regime, joined by the country’s Muslim women. It was a normal sight in the events leading to the victory of the Islamic Revolution to see thousands of devoted and dedicated women clad in black veils marching along men in the streets to protest the violation of rights by the Pahlaví regime.
Thus, after the overthrow of the upstart Pahlavi regime, in accordance with the dynamic shari’ah of Islam and the practical precedent set by the Ahl al-Bayt or Blessed Household of the Prophet, as was shown by Lady Fatema Zahra (peace upon her), Iranian women were freed from the shackles of western-style corruption and created a worldwide impact for return to innate feminine values.
Thanks to these liberating measures in Iran, Muslim women all over the world began to rediscover the freedom and virtues of the Hijab, which was back in vogue.
In Iran, women started participating in all spheres of life with a sense of honour and dignity. Gone were the days when publications of the regime ran columns against chastity and feminine virtues, under direct orders of the US and in blind aping of the decadent western culture. Today Iranian women enjoy all sorts of rights, protected by the freedom of the Hijab.
As pointed out by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, this has annoyed the Godless societies of the West and in frustration they accuse Iran of violating women’s rights. They attack the dignity of the Hijab and resort to preposterous lies by alleging that women are treated as second class citizens in Iran. This is far from the truth, when we see Iranian women active in all spheres of society, with their Hijab intact and their determination to protect feminine dignity through their campaign for materializing the fruits of the Islamic Revolution.