Welfare retreat; ban on employing religious minorities in kindergartens amended
A day after protests over a ban on employing religious minorities in kindergartens, Iranian media reported that the ban had been amended.
According to ILNA news agency, Masoudi Farid, the social deputy of the Welfare Organization, announced on Tuesday, June 4, that the "prohibition on employing religious minorities in kindergartens" has been amended by order of Mohammad Shariatmadari, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare.
This official, while announcing that the use of religious minority personnel in all extracurricular education in kindergartens is not prohibited, also said that in kindergartens where Muslim children attend, "Muslim educators are used to teach religious concepts."
Previously, Iranian media had reported a ban on employing religious minorities in kindergartens, and the Zoroastrian representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly had described the ban as "discriminatory" in a letter to the Minister of Labor.
Religious minorities in Iran face human rights violations and inequality. As a part of the 2018 Global Human Rights Report published by the US State Department, human rights violations in Iran were also mentioned.
The United States has repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic's regime's repression of followers of religious and secular minorities—including Baha'is, Dervishes, Christian converts, and even Sunni Muslims.
Source: Voice of America
