WUNRN
IRAN - SCIENCE MINISTER URGES
SEX SEGREGATION IN UNIVERSITIES
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's science minister has called for universities to enforce strict sex segregation, saying allowing men and women to mingle on campus is a sign of the influence of alien western values, media reported.
Strict laws adopted after the 1979 revolution which founded the Islamic
Republic bar any contact between men and women, but implementation of those
rules varies widely. Conservative politicians have often called for stricter
observance.
"The problem is our universities were
built based on western values ... that are not compatible with our
Iranian-Islamic values," Science Minister Kamran Daneshjou was quoted as
saying by Javan daily.
Segregation affects some parts of daily life
in Iran. Women have to travel in the rear section of buses, and can opt to take
women-only shared taxis and visit specially assigned public parks where men are
not allowed.
But most university classrooms are not
segregated.
"The gender segregation law must be
carried out if it does not bring a halt to routine activities," Daneshjou
said.
The minister suggested male and female
students use areas such as laboratories or computer rooms at separate times if
it is not possible to provide separate facilities.
Universities have always been a battleground
for varying interpretations of Islamic norms in Iran. The Education Ministry
announced last October it was restricting certain disciplines deemed too
"Western," such as sociology, philosophy, psychology and political
sciences.