Iran’s President Calls For Equal Rights For Women
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged his nation to provide equal opportunities and rights for both men and women, arguing that gender equality was crucial for economic and social progress.
In a speech marking Women’s Day in Iran on Sunday, Rouhani told a gathering of women professionals in Tehran that he strongly opposed gender discrimination, though he admitted that the country still had “a long way to go” to ensure gender equality.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged his nation to provide equal opportunities and rights for both men and women, arguing that gender equality was crucial for economic and social progress.
In a speech marking Women’s Day in Iran on Sunday, Rouhani told a gathering of women professionals in Tehran that he strongly opposed gender discrimination, though he admitted that the country still had “a long way to go” to ensure gender equality.
“Women must enjoy equal opportunity, equal protection and equal social rights,” he said, as cited by the BBC.
“Moderation, prudence, and hope will not be established in the country without women’s contribution,” he added, according to the Tehran Times.
[quote]”According to the Islamic rules, man is not the stronger sex and woman is not the weaker one,” he said. “Man and woman are not the opposite of each other. Women are side by side with men and have the same human dignity and position.”[/quote]Rouhani’s remarks came just a day after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the country, had criticised gender equality as “one of the biggest mistakes of the Western thought”.
“One of the biggest intellectual mistakes of the West about the issue of women is ‘gender equality’,” he said. “Why should a job that is masculine be given to a woman? What pride is there in this for [a] woman to do a job that is masculine?”
Although Khamenei said that he did not oppose women’s employment, he noted that it should not conflict with “the main issue”, which was women’s role in the “family environment and household”.
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Without directly addressing Khamenei, Rouhani later said, “This talk is true that the home is the foundation for society, and reform begins in the home, but if we ignore half of the population of the country, we will not see real development and growth in that country.”
[quote]“Today our women are active in all of the scenes with the same dignity, integrity, character and honor as men,” Rouhani added, as cited by Al-Monitor. “Women should have equal opportunity, equal privilege, and equal social rights,” he continued. “Is it even possible to marginalise 50 percent of the members of society?”[/quote]
