The oppressive regime in Iran is intensifying its control over women, extending its reach to shape gender policies. These initiatives, which began four decades ago, have infiltrated the country’s educational landscape, leading to a significant social challenge as male and female students now face gender segregation. The regime, not content with altering textbooks, is now set on transforming school architecture to impose its archaic ideologies on children.
Hamidreza Khanmohammadi, the head of the School Renovation, Development, and Equipping Organization, disclosed to Ilna news agency on Thursday, January 18, that “the architectural plan of schools in the future will differ based on the gender and educational level of the students.”
Confirming the regime’s intention to implement such repressive measures, Khanmohammadi outlined the plan to restrict the atmosphere in girls’ schools, altering the physical environment in accordance with the “fundamental transformation” document.
The fundamental transformation document, approved in the early 2000s by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stresses that ‘schools should align with the individual and gender characteristics of students.’ This document, prioritized in the current government’s education programs, underscores the gender segregation of students in both physical infrastructure and educational content.
Furthermore, the head of the School Modernization Organization acknowledged that the changes in girls’ schools go beyond physical restrictions and include incorporating specific ‘features and requirements’ in the school maps.
According to the regime’s blueprint, girls’ schools are slated to feature a central courtyard enclosed by tall walls and a roof. The design of these schools has already been finalized, and construction is set to commence shortly.
Regime education authorities assert that this school model is designed for the ‘comfort’ of female students, a claim contradicted by research revealing that over 70% of female students in Iran suffer from vitamin D deficiency due to limited exposure to sunlight and restricted use of public spaces.
Previously, Reza Morad Sahraei, the Minister of Education, sparked controversy by announcing that, according to the Fundamental Transformation of Education document, textbooks would be tailored based on students’ gender. Sahraei defended this decision on a TV program, describing gender-segregated textbooks as a ‘scientific and educational measure’ rooted in recognizing the distinct needs of girls and boys.
Education in Iran operates as a sovereign institution, with its course charted at the macro levels of the regime under the watchful eye of its supreme leader. The objectives of the Fundamental Transformation of Education document reveal that the regime’s top priority is to mold an obedient generation. According to this document, boys are meant to become ‘soldiers of Islamic civilization,’ while girls are assigned the roles of ‘childbearing and housekeeping.’
