Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his criticism of the West on social media concerning the treatment of women. Despite Iran’s own record of women’s rights has caused shock. Khamenei’s post on X (formerly Twitter) accused the West of shattering women’s dignity and increasing the harms to families. The Islamic Republic faced criticism and scrutiny related to women’s rights last year after the protests erupted nationwide in September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini. Amini died after being arrested for not properly covering her hair with a hijab by Iran’s Guidance Patrol, also known as the “morality police,” The protests that followed led to the arrest of at least 15,000 people, and as many as 551 protesters were reportedly killed. A community comment on Khamenei’s X post stated, “The Iranian regime protects the dignity of women by having religious police beat and torture them to death like Mahsa Ahmini.” Even with the criticism of the West’s treatment of women, Iran’s own poor rankings for women’s rights cannot be overlooked.
Khamenei: Western Culture Undermines Women’s Dignity in Iran
