Women's Rights & Movements in IranDoes Iranian government fear educated women?

Does Iranian government fear educated women?

-

RFE/RL: Who’s afraid of girls? The Iranian government, it seems. Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the number of Iranian girls enrolling in universities and other institutions of higher education. While many governments would see this as a blessing worth boasting about, that’s not the case in Iran. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

By Iraj Gorgin

Who’s afraid of girls? The Iranian government, it seems. Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the number of Iranian girls enrolling in universities and other institutions of higher education. While many governments would see this as a blessing worth boasting about, that’s not the case in Iran.

In a report to the administration of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s Research Center of the Majles (parliament) recently called the trend of more girls going to universities “alarming” and urged the government to stop it.

‘Worrisome’ Trend

The research center documented what it called a worrisome rise in the number of females to enroll in universities and other centers of higher education. The report said that over the last two decades there’s been a 23-percent increase in the number of girls taking university entrance exams, with the number of girls who passed the tests nearly doubling — to 65 percent — over the same period.

The influential research center — which has decision-making powers in both parliament as well as in government agencies — also warned that the rise in female students could eventually lead to “social disparity and economic and cultural imbalances between men and women.”

But others see society as the problem, not women’s desire to seek higher education.

“If such concern [about more women going to universities”> is being expressed, then it’s because our society is not ready to accept that a woman could be more educated than a man,” said Elahe Hejazi, a university professor in Tehran. She told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that the report reflects both traditional gender discrimination as well as despair among young males about their prospects in life. She calls it a “cultural problem.”

“Our culture is preserved in its traditional form, but the more important problem in our society is that boys have no motivation for continuing their education,” she said.

Detrimental Or Good?

The report says the rise in female students has created other concerns, such as “securing university dorms and maintaining their [girls”> physical security in confronting possible social perils.” Another problem, according to the report, is economic, “such as the possibility that expenses will be underused for specialized skills, as well as a change in the gender of the workforce.”

The center’s report also warns about a detrimental affect on families and urges officials to swiftly find a solution to the “disproportion between the number of men and women” in Iran’s universities.

Shahla Shafigh, an Iranian-born women’s rights activist in Paris, told Radio Farda that she believes the opposition to female students is ideological.

“With the door of opportunity closed to most young girls, with all the control their families and others exert over them, young women are mostly going after knowledge and science to gain freedom and human dignity,” Shafigh said. “And this is a good thing to happen in a country.”

But what steps the government might take in regards to the situation is unclear.

Last year, after reports that the government might limit female enrollment in entrance exams, women’s rights activists in Iran expressed concern. The government later denied that there had ever been any such plans.

But there are signs the government intends to act on the gender issue, including recent media reports suggesting there could be a change in textbooks based on “gender differentiation.”

Last week Zohre Tabibzadeh Nouri, who runs the government’s office of Women’s Participation, told reporters in Tehran that “gender discrimination” will be implemented in certain sectors of the workforce. She added that the government must help women attain the kind of education and expertise suitable for them.

(Fereidoun Zarnegar of Radio Farda contributed to this report.)

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Iran’s Threats to US May Prove Costly to Iran

Iran Focus London, 24 Aug - The Iranian Regime...

Iran naval visit reflects strong ties: Sudan military

AFP: The visit of two Iranian naval ships to...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you