Blog 5: Iran Bans Women From 77 College Majors

Iran stated last week that as of this week they will be putting restrictions on subjects that Iranian women are allowed to major in. Because of their fear of women becoming too independent, they are banning them from taking courses such as engineering, business, nuclear physics, and computer sciences. They are putting a ban on any major that could possibly make a woman more powerful or knowledgable than a man. The government has not claimed any particular reason for this ban but professional opinions claim they are trying to restrict their women from having too many educational opportunities. This is curious mostly because Iran was one of the first countries in the middle east that permitted women to study at their Universities. The dean of Irans University of technology even stated that they have no need for female students right now. Many believe that the cutbacks are due to a conservative backlash against  women because of their declining marriage and birth rates. Iran is trying to get their people to lean toward a more traditional way of life like they used to have. Having more children, more marriages, women staying home is what they are trying to accomplish. They have even put cutbacks on sex education in schools in hopes that more people will have children unintentionally. Iran believes that if they make it illegal for women to succeed that more men will begin to.

Im always astonished when I see stories like this. Iranian are considered more successful than men and the men in charge can't stand it. We can't have women being in charge, even if they have the proper degree. Which they are unable to get now because of these new laws. They are literally forcing their country to go backwards in progress because they don't want their women to be successful and they want them to stay at home and raise a bunch of children. It seems to me that men are angry that Iranian women aren't as subservient as they used to be. They're not getting married or having children for the sake of doing it anymore. Because they have so many educational options they are moving forward and are less dependent on the men in their lives. At least, they were before this ban was enforced.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/09/24/iran_bans_women_from_77_college_majors_can_leaders_really_stop_progress_.html