Mohammad Yazdi to Judicial Activists: Beware of Women's Deceptive Tactics

Mohammad Yazdi, the Secretary of the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, in his latest controversial remarks, advised judicial activists in Iran to not allow female clients to enter their workplaces alone, as women can influence judges with "deception and cunning." A member of the Guardian Council and former head of the judiciary told a gathering of "legal students" from across Iran to "be cautious of the cunning of some gender relations." Yazdi explicitly stated that "women can also influence judicial processes with certain tricks; my message to legal scholars is that you should not let women enter your workplace alone so you can control these relationships." He made these remarks while asserting that "women have a very significant role and status in Islam and have a great right over humanity." The Islamic Encyclopedia defines the term "cunning" as "efforts to harm others through deceit, which is considered more severe than mere deception." In the Quran, the cunning of God is viewed positively, while the cunning of "hypocrites, infidels, women, and Satan" is condemned. Although officials of the Islamic Republic frequently emphasize the "high status of women" in Islam, they generally do not have a positive view of women's social presence and political activities, often reducing their roles to motherhood and homemaking. Since the Islamic Revolution, one of the main policies has been gender segregation in most areas. In recent years, Yazdi has made several controversial statements. He previously warned Hassan Rouhani, the president, and Ali Jannati, the former Minister of Culture, about the promotion of music and women's singing, declaring that "in Islam, solo singing by women is forbidden, and all religious authorities agree on this matter. Even group singing that includes solo performances by women is also forbidden." This conservative cleric recently admonished Ayatollah Shabiri Zanjani, a Shia religious authority, for meeting with Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, and several reformist figures, stating that such "issues should not be repeated." This admonition faced widespread criticism in Iran and provoked a response from Mehdi Karroubi, who has been under house arrest for eight years. In a letter to Yazdi, Karroubi mentioned the existence of "headquarters for the illegal demands of power centers" in the country and identified Yazdi as "one of the most active individuals in these centers."