The status of women and the nature of their role-taking constitute fundamental elements in the architecture of Islamic civilization and can determine the trajectory of a society toward growth or decline. This study, adopting an intra-religious perspective and employing the qualitative method of thematic analysis, explores the socio-political role of women in the thought of Ayatollah Khamenei. To this end, his speeches and statements related to women and the family were collected and analyzed, and basic, organizing, and overarching themes were extracted.
The findings indicate that women’s roles in this framework can be explained at two complementary levels: direct roles and indirect roles. Direct roles include tangible participation in political and social activities, governance responsibilities, and the defense of women's rights. Indirect roles, in contrast, are exercised through raising the next generation, providing spiritual support to the family, and shaping the social and political orientation of the community. The final analysis shows that these two categories are not contradictory; rather, they constitute integral components of a holistic model of the “civilizational woman” within Khamenei’s intellectual paradigm. This model elevates women’s roles beyond mere social activism and positions them as strategic agents in the realization of the New Islamic Civilization.