majors at Emam Khomeini University.20 Each year, a Guidebook for Enrolled Candidates is
published, which provides the university quota, quota for men and women, and information for
admission. With regards to the segregation of higher education classrooms and universities,
Iran’s higher education system is divided into two separate types of universities. Regular
universities, which are called governmental universities, have multi-gender classrooms, except
for a few universities that are reserved only for women. Azad Universities which were formerly
non-governmental, but are currently under control of the Supreme Council of the Cultural
Revelation, where classrooms are segregated by gender, with gender specific classrooms, in
almost all its branch around the country.
The Iranian government does not publish statistics regarding its efforts towards a reduction or
elimination of discrimination in education attainment. There are reports that point to a pattern of
lack of equality in terms of access to education, especially for women and minority groups who
are often marginalized.21 Women are usually denied access to certain majors, as is evident
through enrollment statistics published by the government. In 2017, the gross enrollment ratio of
women in all majors in Iran was 62.86%, compared to 73.33% for males, which means that,
although the difference in ratios is not considerable, women enrollment is still below the male
average and women are barred or limited from enrolling in certain majors.22 In 2015-2016 the
number of women enrolling in engineering majors in Iran was 355360, compared to 1148044 for
males.23
Recommendation Status:
This recommendation has NOT been implemented.24
20
https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/22/iran-ensure-equal-access-higher-education
https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2015/02/womenreport-womens-education/
22
http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/ir
23
https://iranopendata.org/en/dataset/universities-higher-education-terms-major-education-gender-durg-years-13671394/resource/a092f0ad-0964-47f8-9d59-55a4c1c2ec77?inner_span=True
24
For more please see: https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2015/02/womenreport-womens-education/ and
https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/05/25/its-mens-club/discrimination-against-women-irans-job-market
21
4