News outlets around the world – from the UK’s left-leaning Independent to Breitbart, the US alt-right’s news website of choice – have seized upon a series of tweets by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei which were posted to celebrate the birthday of Hazrat Fatima Zahra.

As the favourite daughter of the Prophet Mohammed, Fatima is venerated as a paradigm of womanhood in the Muslim world and her birthday is celebrated as a sort of Mothers’ Day.

The Ayatollah’s tweets have been interpreted as saying that feminism is a Zionist plot. His all-consuming hatred for Israel is a matter of record: he described Israel as a ‘cancerous tumour’ and blamed Jews for the long-running internecine feuds between various sects of Islam. But is he actually blaming Israel for the women’s movement?

Taken in context, the sentiment is more equivocal, decrying oppression of women almost as much as challenging their roles beyond that of wife and mother.

Certainly this posting, which blames Zionists for women around the world being treated as second-class citizens exposes his readiness to blame Israel for all the wrongs in the world.

Designating women as goods & means of pleasure in western world, most probably, is among Zionists’ plots to destroy human community.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 19, 2017

And here, where he seems to suggest that the most important – perhaps the only important – quality in women is their ‘nurturing capabilities’ he seems to be driving at an exclusively home-based role for women.

In west, concepts like ‘gender justice’ or ‘gender quality’ are promoted while justice is realizing & nurturing capabilities God has gifted.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 19, 2017

But then elsewhere in the same series of messages the Ayatollah hints at some notion of equality:

Men & women are no different in some aspects like ‘spiritual ascension,’ ‘leadership power’ or ‘ability to guide humanity;’ [1/2]

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 19, 2017

And while this quotation could easily be taken to mean something altogether different, it is at least possible that he might here be calling for equal respect being given to women who chose to become full-time parents;

Some unaware deceived people humiliate housewives, while it means raising humans & producing highest product in universe i.e. human being.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 19, 2017

It may be that the world’s media has been unfair to Ayatollah Khamenei, who presides over a country where women are not permitted to watch volleyball.

Certainly a clearer statement from the Supreme Leader would be welcome.