The Late Imam was a great thinker and astute leader who was well versed in Gnosis, ethereal values, as well as the mundane affairs of daily life in pace with the progress of sciences, technology and civilization.
Imam Khomeini attached certain rights for women in the Islamic society including their active presence in the scientific, cultural, political and social scenes. In all of Imam’s speeches, the emphasis is on the presence of women in social fields.
He considers activity of women as among the main duties.
For instance, in one of his statements, he said women should take part in the country’s basic decision-making. On the whole, after the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and in line with the guidelines provided by Imam Khomeini, Iranian women have taken giant strides of progress in all spheres, including scientific, cultural, social and political fields.
Imam Khomeini’s dynamic ideals and thought continue to inspire Iranian men and women to strive for finding solution to many problems of modern day Islamic society.
Before the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Iranian women were divided broadly into two groups.
One was made up those who appalled at the degradation of women by the Pahlavi regime that had forced them to unveil and imposed upon them depraved western cultural norms, preferred to stay at home.
The second group was made up of those who misled by the so-called liberties, were trapped in the cultural and social snares set up by the regime, which merely regarded women as commercial commodities and objects of carnal desires.
The victory of the Islamic Revolution transformed Iranian women for good.
If it provided the security and opportunities for the first group of women to come out of their homes, and engage wholeheartedly in the various social spheres with self-dignity and the freedom of the Hijab, it liberated the second group of women from the tentacles of depraved western culture by enlightening their minds with the dynamism of Islam and granting them self-respect to engaged in creative and constructive activities in accordance with their innate talents and professional capabilities.
Although presence of women in the society is useful and precious, they should not be forced to participate in any sphere against their will, especially when a woman thinks that here presence at home is more effective and necessary for the family, and in turn for the society.
Imam Khomeini has aptly remarked: The woman is a great human being, the foundation stone of the family, and consequently the instructor and builder of a sound and healthy society.
The happiness and misery of societies and countries depend on the women, to whom Islam has given equal rights along with men.
They enjoy all freedoms and rights, such as the right to vote, the right to be elected, the right to education, the right to have a dignified joy, and the right to participate in economic activities, in keeping with their delicate nature. In order to provide a proper perspective of the higher levels of freedom in Islam, the Founder of the Islamic Republic in Iran, had referred to the three historical stages traversed by women, that is, during the Era of Ignorance before Islam, after the advent of the universal faith of Islam, and following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
In brief, during the pre-Islamic era women were oppressed in both Arabia and the supposedly advanced civilizations of the Romans, the Iranians, and others.
It was Islam that rescued women from the Age of Darkness, in the words of Imam Khomeini; Islam granted women the honor and dignity to have the proper growth and progress, along with men. As a matter of fact, Islam renders more services to women rather than men. It has granted them personality, as is evident by the dynamic laws of the shar’a promulgated by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) to present practical paradigms for progress of women in society.
According to the Late Imam Khomeini, the third historical stage for women began with the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
As is evident, for the first time, dignified women who for years had chosen to say at home rather than be exposed to the depravities of western culture, came out of their cloistered life to participate in millions in the demonstrations against the tyrannical Pahlavi regime, in order to determine the fate of their country, collectively with their men folk.
In the words of the Late Imam, the Islamic Revolution brought more progress and opportunities to women than men.
He added that so dynamic was this development that it made both men and women cover a gap of a hundred years overnight.