"Many of the penal laws and those on women's issues should be reformed."

In a meeting with Mr. Aref, Tehran's top vote-getter in the 10th parliamentary election, stating that we should introduce Islam to the world as the religion of rationality and mercy, Grand Ayatollah Saanei added, "Islam moves toward its goals with advice and preaching. There is no violence in Islam and all battles in which Islam has been engaged have been defensive."

"Even though once he who committed more killings and crimes was prouder, todays' world seeks mercy and rationality, and this, in itself, provides the foundation for the advent of the Imam of our time (AJ). Today's world moves toward unity. This does not mean that all they do is right, but unity is to the benefit of people."
Asserting that to fulfill this goal, we should reform our judicial and penal laws and make them more merciful, he said, "We should show Islam's mercy to the world. In Islam, we have four ways to punish a muharib [a hostile unbeliever who wages war against God] while we only opt for beheading. A muharib is one who takes up arms and poses threats and insecurities. So, we should not add other criminals to this category."
"Many of our penal laws and those on women's issues need to be reformed. In some cases, the law treats women like a slave maid who is not allowed to leave the house without the permission of her husband while identifies the husband as the boss while, in fact, women would only need to ask permission of their husbands in cases where the rights of the husband are violated. Furthermore, this is a mutual right and men, too, should do the same. This is a necessity for marital life. Grand Ayatollah Saanei said addressing Tehran's top vote-getter, Mr. Aref, and the other parliament members-elect accompanying him.

Stating that parliament members should have the courage to reform some laws, he added, "Once I talked to Ayatollah Hashemi [Rafsanjani] about reforming some laws and he replied that some parliament members exercise caution because they fear to be disqualified for the next elections if they involve themselves in some issues."
At the end, addressing Mr. Aref and the other present parliament members-elect, Grand Ayatollah Saanei said, "I advise you to help the government, Mr. Hashemi, Mr. Khatami, and all those who are in the path of the late Imam Khomeini and follow his views."

It is worth mentioning that, at the beginning of this visit, Mr. Aref expressed satisfaction with the visit and, pointing out the 10th parliamentary elections, said, "After voting for the Government of Prudence and Hope in June 2013, people finished their move by trusting the Reformists in February 2015 and April 2016." "Hopefully, the 10th Parliament will pursue the matters by collaborating with the government and focusing on the shared goals in order to bring hope and economic prosperity," he added.