Iranian Women - Iranian Women's Movement

Iranian Women's Movement

The movement for women's rights in Iran is particularly complex within the scope of the political and religious history of the country. Women have consistently pushed boundaries of societal mores and were continually gaining more political and economic rights up to the Iranian Revolution. Women heavily participated at every level of the revolution; however, within months of the formation of the Islamic republic by Ruhollah Khomeini many important rights were repealed. Almost immediately upon assumption of power by Khomeini, women protested the policies of the Islamic government.

During the last few decades, Iranian women have had significant presence in Iran's scientific movement, art movement, literary new wave and the new wave of Iranian cinema. According to the research ministry of Iran, about 6% of full professors, 8% of associate professors, and 14% of assistant professors were women in the 1998–99 academic year. However, women accounted for 56% of all students in the natural sciences, including one in five PhD students. In total 60%–65% of the university students in Iran are women.

With the 2005 election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Western media claimed that women's rights declined. However, after Ahmadinejad's re-election in 2009, the first female minister was appointed.