Iranian gender restrictions in education

Formal education for women in Iran began in 1907 with the establishment of the first primary school for girls. Education held an important role in Iranian society, especially as the nation began a period of modernization under the authority of Reza Shah Pahlavi in the early 20th century when the number of women's schools began to grow. By mid-century, legal reforms granting women the right to vote and raising the minimum age for marriage offered more opportunities for women to pursue education outside the home. After periods of imposed restrictions, women's educational attainment continued its rise through the Islamification of education following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, peaking in the years following radical changes in the curriculum and composition of classrooms. By 1989, women dominated the entrance examinations for college attendance.

Women's participation in education has not slowed despite efforts to impose restrictions on the increasingly female-dominated educational sphere. The changes in women's education have split into increased usage and dominance of the opportunities available to women, and the imposition of strict requirements governing their role in education, including gender-segregated classes, Islamic dress, and the channeling of women into "feminine" majors that prevent the pursuit of certain careers.

The nature of education for Iranian women changed significantly from the period leading up to the Iranian Revolution when compared to the imposition of restrictions following it. Despite the various obstacles for women entering an educational setting, they manage to comprise the majority of college attendees and outperform their male peers on university admissions tests as well as in graduation rates.

At the beginning of the 20th century education for women expanded slowly, with enrollment of female students in the 1922 academic year totaling just over 7200 students compared with 35,000 of their male peers. In 1935, women first experienced the secularization of Iran's educational system when the University of Tehran was established. As the nation's secularization created demand for professionally trained students, women were encouraged to attend schools. Education became a social norm and a marker of achievement in Iranian society.

On the eve of the Iranian Revolution, in 1976-77, 40 percent of secondary school enrollment was female. These numbers largely reflect the upper echelon of Iranian society, as women who were a part of an ethnic minority or from rural areas of Iran were largely excluded from these educational reforms.

The Iranian Revolution of March 1979 ushered in a period of conservative leadership that altered the role and conception of the new model female in Iranian society. The period was characterized by the retraction of previously passed laws reforming women's status in the home, and the institution in its place of family and civil law based in notions of patriarchy.

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