Spring of freedom

The most common form of violence against women in Iran is the state-sponsored measures to impose the compulsory veil. Dozens of video clips were posted on the social media over the past year, revealing the savagery of the so-called guidance patrols in dealing with Iranian women on the streets and parks. A report published in summer by the research center of the mullahs’ parliament (Majlis) indicated that some 70% of Iranian women do not believe in the compulsory dress-code, namely the head-to-toe black veil or  Chador , imposed by the regime. They are among the “improperly veiled” and protest the compulsory veil. The report confirms that Iranian women observe the veil only through coercion and harsh restrictions. [i] As the center puts it, more than 85% of the “improperly veiled” do not believe in the value of Chador and do not approve of government intervention to control this issue. The research indicated that young educated women residing in large cities and metropoli...

Iran Facing Educational Crisis Iran’s academic year begins at September 23 rd  each year. Though Iran enjoys having geniuses such as late Maryam Mirzakhani, a math genius, the only women recipient of the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics, Iran’s educational system has been in crisis for years. In this short paper, I want to focus on the crisis that Iran’s educational system has been facing, plunging for worse in the past decades. At the end of September, millions of students in Iran go back to school. But unfortunately, this year, many families were forced to send their children not to school, but to work, because they are not able to pay the costs of their children’s education and they cannot see ends meet. Iran Facing Educational Crisis In many cities and villages of Iran, though the children yearn to start a new academic year, they end up working at local brick kilns or weaving carpets to support their families. The Iranian regime’s tr...