Human rights in Iran
Iran's president President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other government officials have compared Iran's human rights record favorably to other countries, particularly countries that have criticized Iran's record. In a 2008 speech, he replied to a question about human rights by stating that Iran has fewer prisoners than America and that "the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared ... with some European countries and the United States."
Human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
After the election of Hassan Rouhani as President, he stated "Women must enjoy equal opportunity, equal protection and equal social rights", although Iran still has "a long way to go" to achieve gender equality. The topic of women's reform is contentious in Iran, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini saying that gender equality was "one of the biggest mistakes of Western thought."