“The Islamic Republic believes that the West uses women as a tool,” he told participants at the First International Khorsheed Media Festival in Tehran on Monday.

“The Islamic Republic views women as neither an instrument nor a homemaker. In a sense, there is a third view which observes that women can be society builders alongside men and play an essential role in the family and society,” he added.

President Raeisi touched on the West’s use of women’s rights as a tool to put pressure on independent countries, saying Western countries “are not really in favor of women’s rights or human rights”.

“Our stand today is that of a claimant and the West of a suspect. The Westerners must answer why they violate the rights of human beings and women,” he said. 

The president also censured the West for ignoring the rights of the Palestinian nation for 70 years and occupying Afghanistan for 20 years with bloodshed, destruction, and over 35,000 maimed children as its only outcome.

He further said that Western countries, especially the United States, are promoting modern ignorance among nations by using their media empire to distort facts, falsify the truth, and suppress real news.

Convergence and effective contacts among independent and free media is the key to success against the West’s media empire, he noted.

DAY/PressTV