In an exclusive interview for the Financial Times, Iranian First Lady Jamileh Alamolhoda discusses womanhood, Islam, and Iran. 

First Lady Alamolhoda is a philosophy instructor at the state-run Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. She is also the chairperson of the university's science and technology research institute. 

“I’m a teacher and I’m focused on philosophical theories,” Alamolhoda told the Financial Times. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, but it feels now like I have a platform, by chance, and that my activities are visible.”

Jamileh Alamolhoda, aged 58, is a published author and a mother of two girls whom she raised with President Raisi while pursuing her PhD.

Dynamizing the stature of the First Lady in Iran

Alamolhoda assumes a proactive role in politics. Locally, she has been outspoken about the importance of education and the role of women.

She has also accompanied President Raisi on formal trips and made statements to foreign media. She also took the initiative to partake in the Islamic Republic's efforts to accumulate diplomatic pressure against the ongoing aggression on Gaza by writing to the European first ladies to work toward putting an end to the killing of defenseless Palestinian women and children.

Read more: Exclusive: Resistance culture undergoing war - Jamileh Alamolhoda

On Hijab and the recent riots in Iran

Regarding the riots that had taken Iran by storm last year, Alamolhoda called against taking the hijab as a pretext to warmonger against Iran. 

"The hijab should not be used as a weapon for those who wish to show hostility toward the Islamic Republic," she said.

Alamolhoda criticized consumerism and what she described as the "cult of fashion." She, herself, adorns a black chador from head to toe in a clear rejection of Western standards of fashion.

“The philosophy of the hijab is that . . . women should lead society towards excellence,” she said. 

The hijab aims to exclude seduction from public life to comport society toward progress, she explained. 

"The Islamic Republic maintains a path that limits anything that leads to seduction and supports anything that helps society’s growth,” she said. 

Regarding the riots, Alamolhoda said they had been directed by Iran's enemies from overseas. "They [the rioters] were directed from abroad where to go and who to hit," she further explained.

Read more: Iranian Hijab: Working-class symbol in an anti-imperialist class war

Womanhood

Much of Alamolhoda’s published books center around womanhood and compatibilizing religious teachings with education.

Some of her most popular books are: "The Feminine Art of Living" and "Islamic Theory of Education."

For her, the “essence” of womanhood would be lacking if it was reduced to “chasing power and wealth” rather than focusing on the more important issues, such as strong families and emotional relations.

Criticizing the Western conception of women empowerment, she said, "The price of their independence has been a downgrading of their femininity to one of the superficial attractions."

She stressed the necessity of preserving traditional values, such as ethical living, all the more so because the world was at a “historic juncture”.

“A lack of morality will lead to the destruction of the environment, culture, civilization, and humanity,” she said. “Moral corruption and debauchery can destroy the human race quicker than an atomic bomb.”