"Women Should be Held in High Esteem: Leader"

I can't help it. This sort of overheated totalitarian palaver makes me giggle:

TEHRAN – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that women should be held in great esteem and respect by members of the society.  

The Leader made the remarks during a meeting with a large crowd of eulogists in Tehran on Wednesday on the auspicious birth anniversary of Hazrat Fatima (SA), the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (S), which is both Women’s Day and Mother’s Day in Iran.  

In his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei said that the Holy Quran had adopted a “logical” attitude toward the status of women, adding that men and women were equal before God and enjoyed equal social and individual rights.   

The Leader also criticized the West’s attitude toward women, saying that the West had a poor understanding of women’s dignity and status.

"A large crowd of eulogists"--I wonder what the going rate for that is these days.

Update: In Iran, "esteem" hurts.