Maryam Rajavi

Maryam Rajavi was born into a middle-class family in Tehran. Rajavi joined the MEK as a young woman. Following the 1979 anti-monarchical revolution, she ran for a seat in Parliament from Tehran during the first parliamentary election in 1980. But, due to widespread voter fraud by the new fundamentalist regime, none of the opposition candidates made it into Parliament. Despite the fraud, Rajavi received over 250,000 votes.

In 1993, during its plenary session, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition whose members include a number of Iranian opposition organizations and prominent personalities, elected Maryam Rajavi as the President-elect. As the President-elect of the NCRI, Maryam Rajavi has made numerous speeches regarding the real message of Islam, which revolves around tolerance and democracy, in direct contradiction of the reactionary and fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.

Rajavi has given extensive lectures on modern and democratic interpretations of Islam as opposed to the reactionary, fundamentalist interpretation of the religion. In her view, the most prominent distinction between these two diametrically opposed viewpoints centers around their outlook on women.

She believes that women are a determining force in the struggle to achieve democracy in Iran.

She has also brought attention to Iran's rich, but endangered, artistic and cultural heritage. Many famous performers, filmmakers, artists, painters, sculptors, poets and writers have expressed their support for her platform for a free and secular Iran.

Maryam Rajavi advocates tolerance among various religions and faiths. She consistently stresses promotion of secularism and recalls that on the basis of a tolerant interpretation of Islam, Islam rejects forcing religious beliefs on others, and considers the followers of all religions equal in the eyes of the law.

Her plan for the future is an Iran without the death penalty and devoid of torture. Maryam's plan is putting an end to torture and all forms of human rights abuse in Iran.

The Iranian Resistance declared years ago that it calls for abolition of death penalty and an end to torture and all forms of rights abuses in Iran.

Her plan is to revive friendship, conciliation and tolerance.

Rajavi's plan for future is to put an end to the mullahs’ religious decrees. We reject the inhuman penal code and other abusive laws of this regime. We believe Retribution is an inhuman law.

Maryam Rajavi advocates laws that are based on forgiveness, compassion and humanity.