IRAN: Baha'is call for end to university exclusion

04 September 2011

In an open letter to Iran's Minister for Higher Education, the Baha'i International Community has called for an end to "the unjust and oppressive practices" that bar Baha'is and other young Iranians from university, reports the Baha'i World News Service.

"This letter affirms every person's duty to acquire knowledge so that they can contribute their talents and skills to the betterment of society," said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "To actively deprive any youth of education is reprehensible and against all legal, religious, moral and humanitarian standards."

The five-page letter addressed to Kamran Daneshjoo, Iran's Minister of Science, Research and Technology, recounts in particular the history of what it says is Iran's systematic, 30-year campaign to deny higher education to young Baha'is and its attempts to outlaw an informal community arrangement - known as the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education - which makes use of the volunteer services of dismissed professors to teach Baha'i youth.
Full report on the Baha'i World News Service site

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