طیب و طاهر

there is no difference between men and women. For example, notice that when it comes to closeness to God, there are outstanding women such as Hazrat Zahra (s.a.), Hazrat Zeinab (s.a.) and the Virgin Mary. Their position is beyond our imagination. In an ayah of Sura al-Ahzab, it has been said that there is no difference between men and women. Maybe this was because Islam wanted to criticize the assumptions of the Jahaliyya era regarding women.

“Surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women and the humble men and the humble women, and the almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember - Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward.” In this ayah, there is a distance between submitting to God and remembering God. Careful attention to these Quranic phrases would reveal a truth: women have been mentioned alongside men throughout the ayah. For example, both men and women have been described as humble and almsgiving: there is no difference between them.
Supreme Leader’s Speech at 3rd “Strategic Thoughts Forum”
04/01/2012