Gender Segregation in Classrooms at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Gender segregation in classrooms at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad has been placed on the government’s agenda.
Since the beginning of nationwide protests in 2022 to the present, the Islamic Republic government, in addition to brutal crackdowns, arrests, and the imposition of mandatory hijab for girls and women, has been attempting to separate the simultaneous presence of women and men in certain spaces. This practice had previously been implemented regarding some parks, and an odd-even scheme was planned for men and women to visit parks.
Now this directive (the plan to segregate women and men) has extended to universities as well. According to a regulation issued by “Abolfazl Ghaffari,” Vice President of Cultural, Social and Student Affairs at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, boys and girls must sit in separate rows in classrooms.
This directive has been issued according to a regulation approved by the Cultural Revolution Council, and professors and students are obligated to comply with this regulation.
The full text of the regulation issued, addressed to Dr. Rezaei Raknabad and its copies, can be seen below.
With the issuance of the aforementioned regulation and the beginning of gender segregation at the said university, it is expected that this regulation will become mandatory and applicable at all universities. However, will freedom-loving people and patriotic Iranian women comply with the aforementioned regulation, or will they stand against the system and its unreasonable demands and impositions?
