Speech [The ban on the hijab, a British plot]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The truth is that whatever institution with which the superpowers are involved, is for the purpose of serving their own interests. The United Nations, the very sessions which are held abroad, and the Security Council are there to serve their interests and to mislead all the other countries. That is why they have given the right of veto «1» for themselves in order to set aside whatever issue they oppose, and in reality, they themselves are basically in the service of the superpowers. They use the organizations that they set up, under whatever name, to their benefit. Our mistrust toward them is to such an extent that even if they say something right, we believe that they have said it in order to deceive the people.

What you have done is very valuable. May you be very successful, God willing. You know that all of them have portrayed our Revolution abroad contrary to what it is. Thus we must gradually try to present our Revolution abroad in the way it is; we have to reflect it in the way it is. The issue is not only about women who have some freedom now in Iran and have gained their rightful status. They are human beings that are committed [to the Revolution]; perhaps more so than the men. But they have been portrayed abroad as just being a part of the people? How do they say such a thing? These issues were raised in Rida Khan's time. The matter of having the women discard their" hijab" [headscarves] was not for the sake of giving them, say, ten million women, a presence in society. They were carrying out the orders received from abroad so as to place us in bondage.

Perhaps, none of you remember what they used to do in those days. You were small; but I still feel the bitterness over this [forcible] removal of the" hijab" on their part that was later labeled as [a sign of]" free women and free men" by Rida Khan's son. You are not aware of what they did to these respectable ladies and the other segments of the people. They used to oblige the businessmen, the petty merchants, the clergymen and on whomever they could exert force, to have gatherings and bring their womenfolk to these gatherings and public functions. Anyone found to disobey would be beaten, chided, etc. They wanted to turn the women into means of equipment for our youths so as to keep the latter away from essential activities. They had various ways of preventing our youths, our university professors and all such classes from thinking about themselves and their country. Moreover, their disgraceful enforcement of the ban on the" hijab" and the way they behaved with respectable women and the clergy, extended to even Mr. Kashani's «2» family. They obliged him to take part in these functions and have gatherings. He had said. whereupon the policemen stated that the orders had been issued from the top authorities. He said that he had meant the same one. They had even recommended this to him. It was the same in the provinces, the villages and everywhere; even in Qum. Their conduct in Qum was so disgraceful as to be unmentionable. It was all for the sake of making our youths; our thoughtless youths and the men and women enter the arena [of vice] and become occupied with one another so that they would remain negligent of basic considerations. They set up hundreds of prostitution centers from Tehran to the extremities of Tajrish (an area in the north of Tehran) and houses of pleasure and such things. You saw that all these things concerned women. Thus, our youths and our people did not pay any attention at all, that they ought to have done, to essential matters. Neither man nor woman; neither the men nor the women were free. But they called them" free men" and" free women"! This was the basic aim from the beginning for which the British- God's curse be upon them- installed Rida Khan in Iran and compelled him to do these things. And, subsequently, their poets, writers and mass media were harnessed to deprive this nation of the things it had by diverting their attention to these pleasures and means of debauchery. There were no restrictions on these centers of vice. But it was not known whether there was perhaps a single center in Tehran that offered religious teachings neither for men nor for the women that they be free to learn. In any case, these were the things that the superpowers did, and the functions they arranged, based on the meticulous planning done by their experts.

Everybody ought to exercise vigilance. All the people of Iran should exercise vigilance so as to avoid being ensnared by them. Wherever the people go- to those meetings, for instance- they ought to maintain their dignity. They should not fall under the influence of the men and women who are present there. It should be just like what you say you have done, so that their participation [in the meetings] does not turn out to be to the benefit of those people. But it does turn out like this as they are usually negligent. Hence, the things you have mentioned are very valuable. If any further meetings are to be held, the men may also attend them, but only the dedicated ones; not those who go there and act against their own and their country's interests. May all of you succeed, God willing. The present period is different from that of the past. The ladies must carry out their social and religious duties now. They ought to maintain public decency. They ought to perform their social and religious tasks while observing public morality. It should not be like what it was in the past when a woman would be brought into the Majlis. But what kind of woman was she and what did she want to do [in the Majlis]? Some ladies have also entered the Majlis now, but their presence is different from that of the women in those days. That was one kind of presence whereas this one is of another kind. They [in those days] held functions; they had a" Women's Day" that marked the removal of the" hijab".

In the last years of my stay in Qum- perhaps the last year before the events of 15 th Khordad- I had heard that the women intended to go to Rida Shah's tomb and demonstrate to commemorate the removal of the" hijab". The [government] department heads who were in Qum had come to see me. I told them to inform their respective ministers that in case such a thing took place, I would tell the nation to observe a day of mourning for the massacre that the regime had carried out in Gowharshad Mosque [Mashhad]. They duly conveyed the message whereupon the authorities changed their minds [about holding the women's demonstration].

In any case, the situation that they had created was directly contrary to the principles that our people had to act upon, and the ladies also had to observe. Thank God that all those problems are over now, and now all the women and the men ought to involve themselves in the social and political affairs of the country. They must keep an eye on the Majlis and the government, and must express their views. The nation now ought to oversee the affairs and express their opinions on social and political issues and other governmental affairs, and exert their weight in case they see something amiss. I hope that this movement ends in success, God willing, and that all of you be successful and victorious. I also hope that you will be able to increase your functions everywhere in the most splendid manner so that the women wake up and there be no more of these issues: those playthings; those makeups and the other things which, as you are aware, used to harm our economy greatly and hurt public morality. Just like the men- that is, the upright ones that saw- that are well-informed, the ladies should also be well-informed about the issues, and be properly educated. They ought to involve themselves in a positive way in the [country's] affairs. May you all be successful and triumphant, God willing.