Iranian universities free to turn away students without hijab

Iran’s Ministry for Science, Research and Technology has said that institutions under its purview can prevent female students who don’t abide by hijab rules from participating in on-campus activities.

The decision comes after months of political unrest following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman charged with wearing her hijab incorrectly. The incident sparked mass protests, with students at universities across the country involved in walkouts.

More recently, even as the situation quietened down, Iranian academics feared being forced out of their jobs, with the regime stamping out pockets of dissent in universities.

Now, the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology has cracked down on students who continue to step out of line.

On 2 April, it said that universities “will not be obliged to offer educational, welfare and other services to the few students who do not abide by the laws and regulations of the universities in this regard”.

It also published a set of guidelines for institutes, asking teachers to “pay special attention” to the hijab and “chastity”, according to regional news.

The political leadership has been rigid in its stance, said Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based non-profit organisation.

“This development just shows how Iran’s regime is unable to reform,” he said. “It fears concessions because that would beget expectations for more concessions in other areas.”

While he said the move is meant as a deterrent, he believed the “genie is out of the bottle with respect to women growing bolder in engaging in civil disobedience”.

“The announcement will only reinforce the people’s anger with the system and their desire for its uprooting,” he said.

pola.lem@timeshighereducation.com