Hawzah News Agency (Tehran, Iran) - These are some excerpts from Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei’s words regarding Lady Fatimah (sa):

"In the Holy Quran, Allah the Exalted has mentioned how much women should be respected. To Allah the Exalted, women are like men. There is no difference between men and women in terms of spiritual and divine position. This path has been created for human beings, not only for men or for women. Allah the Exalted has created a woman like Fatimah Zahra (sa) about whom Imam Askari (as) or Imam Hadi (as) says, "We are the representatives of Allah among the people and Fatimah is the representative of Allah upon us." [Tafsir Atayeb al-Bayan, volume 13, page 236]. "This is based on a hadith which has been narrated by these Imams (as). Fatimah Zahra (sa) is the representative of the other divine representatives. She is the Imam of Imams (as)."

"Is there a greater personality? She was infallible and such a person was a woman. Great women such as Mary, Sara, Asiya and many other great women are the outstanding personalities of the world. In the path of perfection and transcendence, it is human beings which move forward. There is no difference between men and women in terms of social rights. There is no difference between men and women in terms of individual rights. Of course, in specific cases, women have been given certain privileges and in a number of other cases, men have been given certain privileges."

"This is based on the nature of men and women. This is Islam. It has the most reasonable, the most dignified and the most practical laws that one can ever imagine regarding the issue of gender. We should follow this path. One of the major ways to do this is to raise a family, safeguard the family environment and preserve love in the family. And this is the responsibility of the lady of the house."

May 1, 2013