TEHRAN – The improvement of women’s status in society and their presence in various fields, especially in the scientific and academic fields, after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, is undeniable.

Education of women is the best way to develop their health, growth and improve their cultural-economic status. Education, especially university education, is one of the important factors for the development of any country and every person has a right to be educated. Women as a part of society are not exempted from this right.

With the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the Islamic Revolution in February 1979 [by the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979)], a series of fundamental changes and developments emerged throughout the country's social system, including the education of women.

According to Article 20 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all human beings regardless of gender are equal in human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. 

Moreover, Article 21 specifically highlights the need to protect women’s rights by proclaiming that everyone should respect women’s rights. It states that the protection of these rights is one of the responsibilities of the administration and the governmental organizations of the country.

In addition to the fundamental policies and documents regarding women’s education in Iran, the high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic have always stressed in their speeches the necessity to provide the infrastructures and opportunities for the development of women in their individual and social lives.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in one of his speeches about women’s status said, “Women play a role in social, political, scientific, and economic activities. From the viewpoint of Islam, the field of women’s scientific, economic, and political activities is completely open. If someone tries to deprive women of doing scientific work and economic, political, and social endeavors on the basis of some supposedly Islamic viewpoint, they have acted against the divine decree. Women can participate in different activities as much as their physical ability and needs allow. They can engage in economic, political, and social activities as much as they can. The holy Islamic law is not against this. Of course, because women are more delicate in terms of physical strength, they have certain restrictions.” (September 18, 1996)

The promotion of women’s literacy is undoubtedly one of the most significant achievements after the Islamic Revolution.

According to the religious-political leaders, it is believed that a woman in Iran can be both traditional and modern at the same time; this is instilled in the education they receive. Meaning that a woman's central role is in the home, taking care of children, their family, and house duties, while also being able to go out into the social world and create a public life not deteriorating any social standing of her family.

“In my opinion, the main issue - or let us say, one of the main issues - is the issue of home and family. The basis of the issue is women's security and opportunities in the family environment and their home-making is for cultivating their talents. Nothing should prevent them from studying, reading, learning, and writing. Of course, this is related to those women who are interested in such things. The ground should be prepared for them to carry out these tasks,” the Leader said. (April 19, 2014)

The special attention to women, specifically regarding their scientific and academic life, has led to tangible, noteworthy changes in the growth of their individual, social, and scientific lives in Iran after the Islamic Revolution.

During these years, women have found the opportunity to exponentially grow in all levels of higher education whereas such opportunities were absent in the Pahlavi regime. Basically, the monarchical system in Iran adopted a shallow outlook toward women and looked at them as commodities in society.

In the post-Islamic Revolution, the ground was provided for more girls to enter universities and study at higher education centers.

In addition to increased access to academic and scientific environments, women’s situation significantly improved in terms of the diversity of the academic fields available to them. Women have achieved relative equality with men in different fields of study and have even overtaken them in certain fields.

Today, universities in Iran are flooded with women. The country’s literacy rate for women is among the best in the world. Almost 60 percent of all university students are females today. The percentage of women in higher education has increased nearly 21 times since the Islamic Revolution.

According to data, in 1977, only 17 percent of the female population in rural areas were literate. The figure grew to 73 percent in 2017, showing a substantial change brought about by the Revolution.

Statistics from 1986/87 years show that women admissions into schools of dentistry, audiology, statistics, optometry, radiology, and radiotherapy were on par with men. 

As of 2005, 65 percent of Iran's university students were women. As of early 2007, nearly 70 percent of Iran's science and engineering students were women. 

As per the 2020 statistics, the overall literacy rate of women in the country was 85.5 percent, more than that of men at 80.8 percent. 

Presently, the number of female graduates in medical sciences, basic sciences, and humanities exceeds the number of male graduates.  

“The issue of women is an important issue. The best people who can follow up and solve this issue are women themselves. We do not suffer from a lack of educated, broad-minded, talented, literary, and artistic women. Thankfully today, there are many such women in our country. As I mentioned before, we had never had such a large number of educated, knowledgeable, and outstanding women in the history of our country, neither in seminary nor in academic environments. We had never had so many female writers, poets, and researchers in different fields of study. Fortunately, today, we have such women thanks to the Islamic Republic. These things have been achieved in the shade of Islam, the Islamic Republic, and Imam's (r.a.) enlightening outlook towards the issue of women,” said Ayatollah Khamenei. (April 19, 2014)