The Evolution of Women in Higher Education in Iran: A Historical and Statistical Overview
Introduction
The role of women in Iranian society has undergone significant transformations over the past century, with education serving as a pivotal force in shaping their status and opportunities. This article explores the history of women's access to higher education in Iran, examining the statistical trends, the impact of political and social changes, and the ongoing challenges and achievements in this sphere.
The Early Years: Seeds of Formal Education (1907-1979)
Formal education for women in Iran began in 1907 with the establishment of the first primary school for girls. Education held an important role in Iranian society, especially as the nation began a period of modernization under the authority of Reza Shah Pahlavi in the early 20th century when the number of women's schools began to grow. The early 20th century witnessed a gradual expansion of educational opportunities for women, although their enrollment remained significantly lower than that of their male counterparts. In the 1922 academic year, just over 7200 female students were enrolled, compared to 35,000 male students.
In the 19th century, Western missionaries opened schools for girls in Iran, such as the Fiske Seminary in 1838, but for a long time, the authorities did not allow them to enroll Muslim students.
A significant milestone was the establishment of the University of Tehran in 1935, marking the secularization of Iran's educational system. As the nation's secularization created demand for professionally trained students, women were encouraged to attend schools. This created new avenues for women to pursue higher education and contribute to the workforce.
The Impact of the Islamic Revolution (1979-1990s)
The nature of education for Iranian women changed significantly from the period leading up to the Iranian Revolution when compared to the imposition of restrictions following it. The 1979 Revolution brought about profound changes in Iranian society, including the educational system. The newly enacted Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated the importance of women's economic and social well-being, yet did not guarantee the right to educational opportunities. Instead, the new regime of religious authority cracked down on women's participation in education, barring coeducation. Immediately following the Revolution, universities and many high schools were shut down, not to be reopened for another 3 years. During this time many female faculty were excused from their positions and many women lost their jobs. Upon reopening of schools and under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, educational curriculum was altered to reflect a new focus on Islamic values.
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Universities were temporarily closed, and the curriculum was revised to reflect Islamic values. Women were depicted wearing a veil in textbooks, appearing in social studies books as managers of the home and offering guidance on Islam and schoolwork. Textbooks and curriculum remained uniform across genders, though the Ministry of Education's "Study of Professions" textbooks differentiated between "male" and "female" specializations and were distributed according to gender. In 1982, gender stereotyped work was institutionalized by the Ministry of Education's introduction of KAr va Danesh, an experiential cooperative day in which students were excused from school to work in various occupations. Course restrictions in higher education also began under the authority of religious leader Khomeini, in which men and women were each barred from studying certain majors. Women were excluded from studying veterinary science, animal husbandry, geology, and natural resources, while men were precluded from subjects such as fashion design, obstetrics, and mid-wifery. Of 108 mathematics and computer science majors, women were only permitted to study 43. Beginning in 1980, female faculty and students were directed to wear Islamic dress by the Ministry of Education. The institution of veiling throughout Iran in 1981 extended the compulsion to women beginning at 6 years of age. Coeducation was prohibited, and restrictions were placed on the fields of study women could pursue. Despite these challenges, women from traditional or conservative families began to find ways to go to school after the 1979 revolution and the Islamization of the country's educational institutions.
The Rise of Female Enrollment: A Social Phenomenon (1990s-2000s)
Progress began to be made toward alleviating some of these restrictions in the 1990s. Quotas restricting the number of women who could study particular fields were eliminated while the Women's Cultural and Social Council, an institution headed by Iranian women who held influential positions in Iran, began studying the effects continued restrictions had on the Iranian economy. This led to a lifting of all remaining quotas or bans on studying particular fields, completed in 1993. By the 1990s many of the restrictions imposed on majors were also lifted, offering women more opportunities to pursue a degree in fields such as veterinary science that were banned under the Khomeini government. Educational opportunities continued through the rule of Mohammad Khatami, who served as President of Iran from 1997 to 2005. At the beginning of Khatami's presidency, over 95 percent girls in Iran attended elementary school. In 1997-98, 38.2 percent of Iranian women enrolled in higher education. This number rose to 47.2 percent by 2000. As female enrollment in schooling continued to climb, the segregation of the sexes in academic specialization continued to persist through the end of the 1990s. In the 1998-99 academic year, males dominated enrollment in math-physics and technical fields with 58 and 71 percent of the enrolled class of secondary school students. At the turn of the 21st century the government continued to scale back restrictions. By 2000, the government supported the establishment of a Women's Studies course to be offered for graduate level study of topics including women's rights. A 2001 report on women's status in Iran published by his office emphasized the goal of improving educational materials for women to reflect their modern role in society, including the counseling of high school students toward specializations that were traditionally dominated by men. In 2001, the government also authorized the use of the "Sponsorship for Foreign Students Act" supplement for single women to study abroad, a change from the former restriction. The statistics of the Khatami presidency show the slow rise of female participation in education.
In recent years, the number of young Iranian women admitted to universities has risen dramatically. In the last five years alone, Iranian women have made up more than 60 percent of university entrants. It's a surprising development for the Islamic Republic. Experts say education has a strong social value for the country's women, who see it as a way to gain greater freedom. Iranian women are using university studies as a way to leave home, postpone marriage, and generally earn greater freedom and social respect. This remarkable educational progress should be considered a social phenomenon because its implications for social relations, the labor market, and the status of women in society and in the family are very, very important in determining the future of Iran. The modern middle-class families who sent their girls to school even before the revolution continued to do so after the revolution.
Challenges and Restrictions: A Complex Landscape (2005-Present)
Many of the reforms achieved earlier in Rasfanjani and Khatami's presidencies were eroded with the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. The response from students to what was perceived as the attempt to turn secular universities into religious institutions were protests demanding the preservation of civil liberties, such as the freedom of speech. Conservative politicians demanded, in turn, a crackdown on the "westernization" of secular education and an imposition of Islamic philosophy. In 2011, universities began to announce new restrictions on entry to female students. In January 2011, the president of Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, Sadreddin Shariati, announced that subjects with large numbers of students would be split by gender. Prior to this, university libraries and canteens were already segregated. It was claimed that the Iranian public had already been requesting gender segregation in education in some highly religious areas and in the capital; also, such segregation was said to already be in progress in a number of other Iranian universities. On 20 August 2012, an announcement was made by Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology that 36 universities in Iran would be cutting 77 fields of study from the female curriculum, making them male-only fields. The fields chosen include most sciences and engineering, among others. This reasoning was echoed by Isfahan University, which stated that from those that obtained mining engineering degrees "98 percent of female graduates ended up jobless". The disciplines related to agriculture were also regarded as "unfit" for female students. Therefore, as a consequence of this move, women may not become engineers, nuclear physicists, archaeologists, business graduates and computer scientists in Iran. They are also banned from attending the departments of English literature, translation and hotel management. Another reason given was that because of a shortage of available female dormitories, attendance had to be lowered. The possibility of fields of study restrictions was first reported by the Mehr News Agency on 6 August 2012. The news followed the release of the year's entrance exam scores, showing that 60 percent of university attendees are women, along with test scores of the past few years showing women largely outperforming men. Amnesty International reported that in April 2012, university security personnel at the Roudehen Branch of Islamic Azad University beat female students who were not complying with hijab (Islamic dress) standards. They also claimed reports of quotas restricting women's admission to specific university programs ("designed to reduce women’s access to specific fields of study") implemented by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. Seyed Abolfazl Hassani, a senior Iranian education official, stated in defense of the announcement that, "Some fields are not very suitable for women’s nature, such as agricultural machinery or mining, partly because of the hard work involved in them." The policy change was criticized by some Iranian parliamentarians, such as Mohammad-Mehdi Zahedi, head of the Iranian parliament's education and research committee. Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi wrote to the United Nations in protest of the restrictions, stating that the Iranian government is "trying to limit the active presence of women in society". She has asked for the issue to be added to "Iran's human rights dossier". In 2022 - 2023 hundreds of school girls were poisoned for the purpose of preventing them from attending school.
Despite the absence of explicit legal barriers to women’s education, the patriarchal regime in Iran imposes severe restrictions, rooted in its inherent misogyny. The regime’s civil law (Article 1401) sets the legal marriage age for girls at just 13, leading to premature school dropouts, domestic responsibilities, and early motherhood. The regime’s bias against female education manifests in injustices during national exams and university admissions. Experts link the rising dropout rates among girls to escalating poverty levels. Demographer Shahla Kazemipour revealed a staggering 30% high school dropout rate among girls. The Ministry of Education reported 621,000 high school dropouts last year, while on March 16, 2024, the ROKNA news agency noted 466,995 unemployed female graduates in fall 2023. The Iranian regime, led by the mullahs, exploits legal gaps to suppress women’s education and infringe upon their basic social rights. High-ranking clerics issue misogynistic fatwas that perpetuate gender inequality. Jafar Sobhani’s Controversial Stance (May 2014): Jafar Sobhani, a member of the Assembly of Experts, controversially argued that not all girls should pursue university education. He claimed that focusing on family responsibilities-such as caring for children and a husband-was a more valuable service for women. Ahmad Jannati’s Surprising Concern (December 2008): Ahmad Jannati, head of the Guardian Council expressed surprise at the impact of women’s education on marriage proposals. He highlighted that women often inquire their suitors about their educational background.
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Formal education for women in Iran began in 1907 with the establishment of the first primary school for girls. Education held an important role in Iranian society, especially as the nation began a period of modernization under the authority of Reza Shah Pahlavi in the early 20th century when the number of women's schools began to grow. The early 20th century witnessed a gradual expansion of educational opportunities for women, although their enrollment remained significantly lower than that of their male counterparts. In the 1922 academic year, just over 7200 female students were enrolled, compared to 35,000 male students.
In the 19th century, Western missionaries opened schools for girls in Iran, such as the Fiske Seminary in 1838, but for a long time, the authorities did not allow them to enroll Muslim students.
A significant milestone was the establishment of the University of Tehran in 1935, marking the secularization of Iran's educational system. As the nation's secularization created demand for professionally trained students, women were encouraged to attend schools. This created new avenues for women to pursue higher education and contribute to the workforce.
Women in the Workforce and Politics
The growing number of female university graduates has already had an impact on Iran's labor market. Women have entered a number of professions both in the public and private sector. Women are also becoming increasingly active in the business world. All told, they currently make up some 10 percent of the work force. But with women comprising 60 percent of all university students, that number is set to grow dramatically. In the early years of the revolution, about one-third of the women who were working were laid off by the new regime. Now, instead of those female office workers and secretaries, Iranian women are returning as factory engineers and specialists. So in fact, Iran's labor market is facing an influx of female specialists who can replace men, and with the very male-oriented structure of Iranian society, this is a big change. In Iran, women at the head of an office or a bank -- and in a position where they can give orders to their subordinates, who are mostly men -- is becoming a common scene.
Women are increasingly participating in the political sphere, despite legal and societal impediments. President Hassan Rouhani appointed four women as vice presidents and three women as governors following his 2013 election. Women in Parliament: Went up to 17 seats in 2016 - the highest in the history of the Islamic Republic.
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Other Restrictions
While official laws in Iran do not explicitly oppose women’s participation in sports, practical obstacles persist due to mandatory hijab rules and gender segregation. Female athletes face challenges when it comes to mandatory hijab. Media Censorship and Gender Bias: State television often avoids broadcasting women’s sports competitions, perpetuating gender discrimination. International events featuring female athletes-such as soccer and futsal-are rarely shown. Stadium Ban for Women: Iranian women and girls are barred from attending soccer matches in stadiums. Recently, the Iran Soccer League Organization prohibited women from watching the match between Aluminum and Persepolis teams in Markazi Province.
The regime’s extra-legal restrictions extend to the realms of art, music, and singing. The mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reiterated the prohibition on women singing. His fatwa discourages listening to female singers, reinforcing gender-based limitations. This stifles artistic expression and perpetuates discrimination. Security forces summoned and arrested two singers from the Glaris music group in Kermanshah. Their “crime” was participating in a promotional video for a furniture store. This incident highlights the regime’s intolerance toward artistic freedom. A writer and singer of Azerbaijani music, Ashqin Emami faced an attack by security forces on May 4, 2024. Her house was searched, and her personal belongings were confiscated.
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