Speech [The role of women in the Islamic Revolution]

I seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I left Qum at a time when you, the ladies and gentlemen of this city, were afflicted with so many difficulties, but at that time your young ones were by your sides; and I have come back at a time when the grief of the children that you, mothers and fathers, nurture in your hearts has affected me as much. I have seen the photographs posted on the walls of Faydiyyah Madrasah and I would like to extend my condolences to Qum residents and the bereaved mothers for the loss of their worthy youth.

The entire country had been beset with these afflictions. For fifty-odd years, our whole country was beset with difficulties, was suffering and living under oppression, and was dependent on the foreigners. God knows what this father and this son had done to the country of ours. God knows that no treason has ever been done against Iran- like what they did- throughout the course of its history. All the kings (that had ruled Iran) in the last 2,500 years or more had been criminals; even the good ones among them committed crimes. However, their crimes were not as bad as those of these (father and son). The treacheries committed by them were not known (to the people) Apart from their crimes being so many, their treacheries were more.

Most of you may not remember it, but we had witnessed (horrible) crimes committed during Rida Khan's time. In the name of" stripping off the hijab," he subjected the venerable women of Qum, the faithful, the women in all cities, and Islam to indignities in obeisance to those who were ordering him what to do! God knows what things his functionaries did to the women and what ill-treatments. How many of the women's veils[ chador ]they tore! And stripped them of their veils[ chador ]and headscarves. We witnessed all these and you, too, have witnessed what the son had done to this country in the name of the" great civilization". You cannot imagine what adversities they had subjected to this country. We are not able to comprehend the magnitude of the crimes and treacheries they had committed. We do not have information about the places they have stashed away their wealth. What has been revealed of their hidden wealth does not throw light on whether this is all that they have. It is not known how much money they had stowed away in banks, for example, the banks in Switzerland, America, Britain and other places. It has been said recently that he( Shah )had carted off twenty-three billion dollars and we do not have any information on how much he had hoarded before.

During the time of Rida Shah, when the war broke out and the allied powers banished him, he started hoarding jewelry; he filled his suitcases with jewelry and fled. When he was aboard a ship (that was to take him to Africa), as we have been told, another ship, the kind used for transporting animals, stopped beside his ship; and this evil man, who was worse than a beast, was told to get on the (second) ship. When he asked about the jewelry-filled suitcases, he was told that they would be dealt with later. Afterwards, those suitcases were taken to Britain and were looted.

During the reign of this (Shah), they (the Shah and his cohorts) also looted everything. They also stripped us of our dignity. They ruined our human resources and material powers to such an extent that they forestalled human development. They created so many corruption centers; they set up so many gambling casinos and red light districts, and placed them at the disposal of our youth and rendered them negligent of their destiny. The regime made our youth addicted to narcotics to push them into stupefaction and prevent them from thinking about their destiny. However, the Exalted and Blessed God, willed and assisted you in these last two years when the movement, which actually started on June 5 (1963), blossomed.

You, women, proved that you were in the forefront; you proved that you were ahead of the men. The men derived inspiration from you. Iranian men learned a lesson and found a paradigm in the Iranian women. And the men of Qum found their paragon in you and learned a lesson from you, the women (of Qum). You are at the forefront of this movement. Islam accords you more respect than it does to men. Islam wants to rescue you (from corruption). Islam wants to rescue you from being transformed into mere playthings, which the regime wanted you to be. Islam wants to make you evolve into perfect human beings in whose laps perfect human beings are trained.

I thank all of you for partaking in this movement. I would like to offer my sympathy and condolences to all the mothers who took part in this movement and lost their beloved ones; and I implore the Exalted and Blessed God to bestow His blessings upon their martyrs. I also beseech God to grant His blessings upon all of you. May God make you all prosperous. May God grant prosperity to all of you. May God help you attain your desired (state of) perfection.

You must all cast your votes for an Islamic republic, not a word more and not a word less. You,(the women of Qum), too, must vote. You are not different from the rest; in fact, you have precedence over men. Men are brought up on your laps; you are the educators of men. You must appreciate your own value. Islam recognizes your merits. You, too, must participate in the referendum that is to be held, and vote for an Islamic republic. I hope that an Islamic republic, Islamic justice and a just government will come into existence to deliver this country from all its tribulations and not allow the aliens to do as they please in this country, and to insure your independence and freedom. May God bless you all.

May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.