A woman is the symbol of affection, self-sacrifice and emotions. She nurtures the family unit with her smooth soul and kind hands and by building a healthy family plays an important role in creating a dynamic and vanguard society. Whenever needed, women are present on the scene during social and political movements to revive the trampled rights of the nation and cut the hand of the oppressed from the fate of her country. An evident example of this reality is the restless and roaring movements of Muslim women in several states of West Asia and North Africa. They are the brave women who with their presence alongside men on the streets and squares of the country figured out the Islamic awakening and now they try to further develop its fruitful values. On this occasion on the recent days, Tehran hosted a conference of prominent lady activists from some 85 countries. Last week, these ladies gathered at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Hosseiniyah to listen to the statements and guidelines of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. In the meeting the enthusiasm and interest expressed by the women was spectacular. Many of them had tears of joy in their eyes on having the opportunity to meet the Leader. Many carried placards reading “We are devotees of Ayatollah Khamenei” or “We are soldiers of Khamenei.” In the meeting, representatives of the educated ladies of the Islamic world in speeches underlined that Islamic Awakening sweeping most of the Muslim states, has been inspired by uprising of Imam Husain (AS), the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). They admitted the impact of the Islamic Revolution of Iran on the Islamic movements in Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and other countries. They reiterated the necessity for vigilance and unity against the enemies’ plots, exchange of experiences among themselves and the outstanding role of Ayatollah Khamenei in the awakening of the Islamic world. For instance, the daughter of Sheikh Ragheb Harb, the prominent Lebanese Hezbollah official who was martyred by the illegal Zionist entity, addressing the gathering said: Our Leader, accept the warm greetings of the women, men and children of the martyred Sheikh Ragheb Harb who had already said to Imam Khomeini: My Leader, if you travel to the end of the ocean we will travel with you. We reiterate today, with God as our witness, if you travel to the end of the ocean we will accompany you. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, welcoming the guests, called the revolutionary Muslim women as his sisters and daughters and told them to consider Iran as their homeland. In his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei praised the Islamic view of women and referred to the western view of women as insulting. He said: Westerners consider women as a commercial product and an instrument that men ought to carnally exploit. The western view of women is depraved, flawed and misleading. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the Islamic view of women is the opposite of the western view and stressed that Islam brings about dignity and growth for women by giving them an independent identity. He referred to the success of the faithful Iranian women in different scientific, political and managerial areas, saying: In an Islamic environment, a woman achieves scholarly, ethical and political growth and she is a pioneer in essential social issues, but basically she remains a woman with all her gentle characteristics. Ayatollah Khamenei said women should be proud of preserving the family values and thereby building a sound and healthy society. In the family, a woman plays her role of house-keeper, a parent, and a spouse very well. In the society, too the role of a woman is so sensitive and important that wherever she is absent from the social developments, the movement will not reach the desired conclusion. Ayatollah Khamenei said the most important responsibility of outstanding Muslim women is to highlight the role of women from an Islamic point of view. Referring to the crucial role the Iranian women have played after the Islamic Revolution, he said: "Women play a determining role in social developments, in revolutions and in the Islamic Awakening, because wherever women take part in a social movement with awareness, the progress and victory of that movement is guaranteed. This reality makes it absolutely necessary to preserve and strengthen women's presence in the developments of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and other parts of the world of Islam. He described the Islamic Awakening as an amazing and unparalleled movement and stressed that it can change the course of history. On the role of Iranian women in the course of the Islamic Revolution and the 8-year war imposed by the US through Saddam, Ayatollah Khamenei said: It were the women who encouraged their husbands and children to campaign against the tyranny of the Pahlavi regime and to go to the war fronts of the imposed war. If Iranian women had not taken part in the 8 year war, we could not have passed this hard test. Women made us gain victory. He said Iranian women are proud to be mothers of martyrs, wives of martyrs, daughters of martyrs, wives of the war disabled, wives of POWs, and through their courage they created the necessary atmosphere to encourage men to rise to the defence of the country. As a result, our environment became the atmosphere of self-sacrifice and forbearance, and we became victorious. Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the resistance of Iranian people against the present sanctions and considered the role of Iranian women in the progress of Islamic Iran as very important. He said: Sanctions do not harm us. The people of Iran have the spirit of resistance. They resisted in the face of the enemy's machinations by sacrificing their wealth, their life and the life of their loved ones. Today we are a hundred times more powerful and more advanced than we used to be thirty years ago. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution praised the Muslim states that have risen against oppression, saying: The arrogant powers - headed by America and Zionism - are astonished by this great movement and they are feverishly trying to deviate and dominate this movement. He said the arrogant powers are trying to discourage the people of regional countries from continuing their presence by involving them in internal conflicts in order to undermine the Islamic Awakening. He stressed: If Muslim nations resist in the face of this plot and continue their presence on the scene, they will definitely defeat the arrogant powers because the sword of all the arrogant powers is blunt and ineffective against the people's presence and piety. The leader cited the resistance and campaign against the oppression of the arrogant powers as divine favors and addressing the revolutionary people said: We should do everything possible to become deserving of divine mercy and we should ask God Almighty to bestow His mercy upon us. Ayatollah Khamenei said that the west has been making comprehensive efforts over the past 100 years to isolate Muslim women from their Islamic identity, and hence the efforts by outstanding women of the world of Islam to revive this identity are the greatest service to the Islamic Ummah; this is because the sense of identity, awareness and insight among Muslim women will have a major effect on the Islamic Awakening and the dignity and honor of the Islamic Ummah.