NY Times City Room blog, which live-blogged his speech, caught this exchange:
Pressed by Dean Coatsworth on the original question about the rights of gay men and lesbians in Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad said: “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that in our country.”
The audience booed and hissed loudly. Some laughed, uncomfortably.
“In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon,” Mr. Ahmadinejad continued, undeterred. “I do not know who has told you that we have it. But as for women, maybe you think that maybe being a woman is a crime. It’s not a crime to be a woman. Women are the best creatures created by God. They represent the kindness, the beauty that God instills in them. Women are respected in Iran.”
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at a forum for world leaders at Columbia University Sept. 24, 2007, in New York City. The highly controversial leader's appearance at Columbia has led to thousands of protesters descending on the university in opposition. Ahmadinejad, one of dozens of world leaders in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly, has publicly called for the destruction of Israel and has raised questions about the authenticity of the Holocaust. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
More Pictures from Ahmadinejad's Speech and Protests Outside Columbia University.
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