Students protest fees, suppression and discrimination

Hundreds of students at several major Iranian universities protested last week against higher tuition fees and what they claim is political suppression and gender discrimination, reports Radio Farda.

The protests started last Monday at Tehran University, Beheshti, Kharazmi and Allameh Tabataba’i universities in the capital and expanded to several other institutions on Tuesday. There were hundreds of students protesting in each university. The Iranian government has designated 7 December as Students Day to commemorate the death of three students who were killed in 1953 protesting a visit by the then US vice president Richard Nixon to Tehran. However, students use the occasion to stage anti-government rallies.

Since 2009 protests against the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the presidential election, hundreds of politically active students have been harassed and arrested by security forces. Their publications have been systematically banned or censored, and some of the students have even been suspended or discharged from the university. During his election campaign, President Hassan Rouhani had criticised the increasing pressure on students and promised to improve the situation. Students say the president has not fulfilled his promise yet.
Full report on the Radio Farda site