ALBAWABA - Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, has sparked online debate after a viral post on X platform in which he slammed women's independence and freedom.
In his post, Ayatollah Khamenei accused the European world of hiring women only because they needed "laborers" with salaries less than men.
He wrote: "About a century ago [in Europe], they said #women should have financial independence and freedom. This idea looked good on the surface, but what was the underlying reality? Their factories needed workers. They wanted to hire women to be laborers and pay them less than men."
The post has generated much interaction online with many attacking his ideology towards the Western world and women, while many others highlighted the harsh circumstances women are living in Iran as they lack basic freedom rights.
"They get paid the same. I’m not sure you’re qualified to discuss women’s rights in the workplace," an X user commented. Another said: "You make them laborers in your home and pay them nothing."
A German woman described her case as a woman in Europe by writing: "Hello, a woman from Germany here. I am completely independent from my husband. He could leave me and I wouldn't care financially. The times when a woman can't leave her husband because of money is over. Seems that is bothering you. In the West, we are not slaves to useless men."
Not only did this post spark the whole fuss on social media, but the supreme leader of Iran continued in a separate post that the goal "isn’t to promote a theoretical or philosophical view, a sense of humanitarianism, or to fulfil a civic duty. Their goal is to interfere and expand their sphere of influence."
It is worth mentioning that women in Iran are facing severe restrictions on their freedom amid various laws such as the mandonatory hijab rule, which forces them to wear headscarves in public or face punishment. In addition to the morality police, a government department that enforces strict dress codes in public.
