Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Wednesday as he addressed a group of Iranian women in the run-up to the celebrations commemorating the birthday anniversary of Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (SA), the beloved daughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

“The absolute brazenness of the West comes into sight when it presents itself as the forerunner of advocacy for women’s right, whilst it is responsible for flurries of blows dealt to the dignity and prestige of women. This could be explained as utter shamelessness.

He stated that one would feel deeply ashamed to know about last year’s social movement, in which Western women publicized their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.

“This is what they suggest by women’s rights and freedom. This is by no means freedom, but rather utter slavery,” the Leader said.

This meeting has been a pure women’s meeting and full of outstanding and excellent concepts until now, until this moment, the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei hailed his meeting with Iranian women, describing it as a meeting full of outstanding and excellent concepts.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also appreciated the issues raised by the ladies in the meeting, saying that he really enjoyed the raised issues.

According to the Leader’s remarks, the employment of efficient, experienced, knowledgeable, and wise women in the country’s decision-making arenas is of high importance.

Hazrat Zahra (SA) is a role model for Muslim women, the Leader pointed out.

He went on to touch upon the status and situation of women in western countries, saying that western countries have to be condemned when it comes to the issue of women

Ayatollah Khamenei further criticized the hypocritical Western states who claim to be women’s rights advocates saying that Iran and Islam are not in a defensive position rather they are in an offensive position when it comes to the issue of women’s rights.

He described Western women as being “alienated” while noting that “the Western capitalist system is a patriarchal system.”

Criticizing the Western capitalist system, the Leader said that in the capitalist system, people’s capital has more value than humanity.

Therefore, in the capitalist system, men have priority over women because they can make more money than women, Ayatollah Khamenei also argued.

He also expressed hope that the Iranian women will be able to influence the public opinion of Westerners because their women are really suffering.

Every year, Iranians commemorate Mother’s Day on the 20th day of the lunar Islamic month of Jamadi al-Thani, which marks the birthday anniversary of Hazrat Zahra (AS).

Hazrat Zahra (SA), also known as Fatemeh, is the daughter of Islam’s Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the wife of Imam Ali (AS), the first Shia imam.

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Hathloul was announced on Monday as the winner of the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize in recognition of her fight for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, including her efforts to end a ban on women’s driving.

Named after the former Czech dissident and later president, the prize is awarded annually for civil society action in defense of human rights by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Hathloul, 31, “is one of the leaders of the Saudi feminist movement, having campaigned to end the male guardianship system, as well as the Saudi ban on women driving, and for greater protection for women facing abuse in the Kingdom,” PACE said in a statement.

She was arrested in May 2018 with about a dozen other Saudi female activists. Her family said the activist experienced torture and sexual harassment in detention.

Last December, a court handed Hathloul a prison term of five years and eight months on alleged charges of terrorism-related crimes, but a partially suspended sentence and time already served led to her early release in February.

However, she is barred from leaving Saudi Arabia and remains on probation, meaning she cannot return to activism or speak her mind without risking re-arrest.

Hathloul was unable to appear via video conference at the award-winning ceremony organized by PACE, but her sister Lina, who lives in Brussels, intervened on her behalf.

“International support is the only way we can expose the injustices in my country and protect the victims,” Lina said as she accepted the prize and its 60,000 euros ($72,000) at a virtual ceremony.

“For years now, the Saudi regime has been trying to tarnish her image, to erase any support for her, and to make her forgotten. But the more time passes, the more Loujain proves to the world how incredibly brave, resilient and attached to her values she is,” she added.

Saudi Arabia overturned the world’s only ban on female motorists on June 24, 2018. However, paradoxically enough, the lifting of the prohibition was followed by a sweeping crackdown on prominent women’s rights activists, who had staunchly advocated for the right to drive.

Saudi authorities have arrested dozens of activists, bloggers, intellectuals and others perceived as political opponents ever since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became the kingdom’s de facto leader in 2017, showing almost zero tolerance for dissent even in the face of international condemnations of the crackdown.

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Hundreds showed up in New York City and thousands in Washington, DC, for the rallies, which aim to harness the political power of women, although crowds were noticeably smaller than in previous years. Marches were scheduled Saturday in more than 180 cities.

The first marches in 2017 drew hundreds of thousands of people to rallies in cities across the country on the day after US President Donald Trump was inaugurated. That year’s DC march drew close to 1 million people.

In Manhattan on Saturday, hundreds of people gathered as part of a “Rise and Roar” rally at separate events in Foley Square and Columbus Circle.

“Today, we will be the change that is needed in this world! Today, we rise into our power!” activist Donna Hylton told a cheering crowd in Foley Square.

Snow began falling by the afternoon in Manhattan, apparently putting a damper on plans for the two groups to converge in large numbers near Times Square.

In downtown Los Angeles, thousands of men, women, and children filled several blocks as they made their way from a plaza to a park adjacent to City Hall, where a rally featured speeches by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Rep. Maxine Waters, and others.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom credited women for mobilizing against gun violence, creating the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and discrimination, and taking back the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.

“In 2020, I have no doubt that it will be women who will lead again, rise up and move this country forward on a path toward justice,” she said, AP reported.

In Denver, organizers opted to skip the rally after the march and instead invited participants to meet with local organizations to learn more about issues such as reproductive rights, climate change, gun safety, and voting.

Several thousand came out for the protest in Washington, far fewer than last year when about 100,000 people held a rally east of the White House. But as in previous years, many of the protesters made the trip to the nation’s capital from cities across the country to express their opposition to Trump and his policies. From their gathering spot on Freedom Plaza, they had a clear view down Pennsylvania Avenue to the US Capitol, where the impeachment trial gets underway in the Senate next week.

In Washington, three key issues seemed to galvanize most of the protesters: climate change, immigration, and reproductive rights.

“I teach a lot of immigrant students, and in political times like this I want to make sure I’m using my voice to speak up for them,” said Rochelle McGurn, 30, an elementary school teacher from Burlington, Vermont who was in DC to march. “They need to feel like they belong because they do.”

Peta Madry of New London, Connecticut, was celebrating her 70th birthday in DC by attending her fourth Women’s March with her sister, Cynthia Barnard, of San Rafael, California. Both women were wearing handknitted pink hats that date from the first march. With pained expressions, they spoke about Trump’s determination to reverse the policies of his predecessor Barack Obama and his treatment of women.

“Look what he’s doing to Greta Thunberg,” Madry said, referring to the teenage climate activist. “He’s the biggest bully in the world.”

Melissa McCullough of Georgetown, Indiana, said when she recently turned 50 she promised herself that she would get more involved politically. “I’m here to protest Trump, as a woman,” she said.

Her daughter, 19-year-old University of Cincinnati student Elizabeth McCullough, chimed in to say that most women’s issues are human issues, and they talked about the need to protect immigrants.

“You have to push to protect everyone or no one’s safe,” Melissa McCullough said.

The protesters planned to march around the White House, but Trump wasn’t there. He is spending the holiday weekend at his resort in Florida.

Organizers of the Washington march faced criticism from some local African American activists for failing to focus on local issues and damaging the ability of local activists to organize.

 “Local DC is a domestic colony and the actions of national organizers have to recognize that,” Black Lives Matter DC wrote in a letter this week to Women’s March organizers. “Here in DC, these unstrategic mass mobilizations distract from local organizing, often overlook the black people who actually live here and even result in tougher laws against demonstration being passed locally.”

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