Spotlight on Iran (Week of November 30-December 7, 2011)

Highlights of the week Other voices in Iran on British embassy break-in Iranian speculations on Egypt’s Islamists: Shi’ite-style revolutionaries or Turkish-style democrats? Is the government facing growing difficulties in implementing the subsidy policy reform? Majles suggests reducing number of official holidays in Iran: is Nowruz more important than religious holidays? Mixed-gender education produces "impertinent girls and emotional boys”

Highlights of the week

Other voices in Iran on British embassy break-in

While officials and media affiliated with government supporters voiced support for the break-in to the British embassy in Tehran, this week there have been more and more voices in Iran expressing reservations about the assault. A number of websites argued that the embassy break-in caused severe damage to Iran’s national interests and gave its enemies more fuel to step up pressure and portray it as a law-breaking country. The websites also said that there is no room for comparison between the supposedly justified takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and the break-in to the embassy of Britain.

The Asr-e Iran website said that the embassy break-in gives Iran’s enemies an excuse to act against it, turns world public opinion against it, and jeopardizes the lives of Iranian diplomats abroad who are now subject to reprisals. Even if resistance against Britain is justified, it should be expressed in a way that will not compromise Iran’s interests.

The website further argued that there is no room for comparison between the British embassy break-in and the takeover of the U.S. embassy in 1979, since Iran’s regime is now stable and able to take a clear stance towards Britain without resorting to such actions.

The Fararu website also said that the break-in did a service to Britain and Western anti-Iranian media. The author of a commentary article published on the website even said that those who broke into the embassy should be brought to trial on charges of compromising national security and causing damage to the regime.

The Alef website also voiced strong criticism of the embassy break-in. According to the website, this action lends credence to Western claims that Iran should not be allowed to continue with its nuclear program, because a country that has no respect for international law cannot possess nuclear capabilities. Even if the action was well-meaning, it caused tremendous damage to Iran and is even unacceptable on religious grounds.

This week two senior conservative clerics joined the voices expressing reservations about the embassy break-in. In a memorandum of opinion, senior cleric Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi said that, in spite of Britain’s long-standing hostility towards Iran, any action that violates the law or does not have the approval of the Supreme Leader and the authorities is forbidden. Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, who last week implicitly endorsed the break-in, termed the action as being "illegal” earlier this week.

Iranian speculations on Egypt’s Islamists: Shi’ite-style
revolutionaries or Turkish-style democrats?

This week the Iranian press provided extensive coverage of the Islamists’ victory in the first round of elections for the lower house of the Egyptian parliament. In addition to regular reports on the election results, in recent days there have been various speculations on the significance of the Islamists’ victory and the nature of the Islamist faction in Egypt.

On the eve of the Ashura, marked this week in the Shi’ite world, the conservative daily Keyhan chose to portray the Islamist faction in North Africa and Egypt in particular as having pro-Shi’ite inclinations. The daily said that as far back as the days of Sayyid Qutb, a major ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, clerics and the Islamic faction in Egypt had a great deal of respect for the Shi’ites, particularly Husayn, the third Shi’ite imam, and that Islam in North Africa differs in its characteristics from Islam elsewhere and is closer to its Shi’ite version. Keyhan argued that North African Islam cannot be compared to the Salafi model operated and directed by Saudi Arabia, which makes that country’s influence on developments in North Africa extremely limited. North African Islam is based on the spirit of struggle and the culture of the Prophet’s family, and coincides neither with the model espoused by Turkey’s PM Erdogan nor with any other "anti-revolutionary” model.

The election results in Egypt were also discussed by the conservative daily Ghods, which defined the victory of the Islamists as "the last nail in the coffin of secularism”. According to the daily, the victory is proof that the Arab public aspires for the implementation of Islamic religious law to eliminate the cooperation between Arab governments and foreign countries.

Contrary to Keyhan and Ghods, reformist thinker Prof. Sadegh Zibakalam argued that the Islamists in the Arab world, including Egypt, are essentially democrats who follow the Turkish model. In an editorial published earlier this week by the reformist daily Shargh, the Iranian intellectual said that the reason why the West is not concerned with the victory of the Islamists in the Arab world is that they do not hold anti-Western views and are even committed to a democratic worldview. Zibakalam further added that the worldview of the Arab Islamists reinforces Turkey’s position in the region and advances their relations with that country.

Is the government facing growing difficulties in implementing the subsidy policy reform?

Speculations that the government has difficulties implementing the subsidy reform in its current format received support recently when the transfer of cash benefits to the bank accounts of Iranian citizens was delayed by several days. The cash benefits have replaced the subsidies abolished by the government last year.

This weekend Iranian media reported that the cash benefits, which were supposed to be transferred to private bank accounts, had not been deposited on time. Shortly after the reports appeared, the chairman of the organization in charge of implementing the subsidy policy reform said that the cash benefits would be deposited in the beginning of the week, and that they could be withdrawn starting Monday morning (December 5).

The Khabar Online website estimated that the delay in the transfer of the cash benefits has to do with a serious 8-trillion-toman (approx. 7.5 billion dollars) deficit in the budget allocated for the cash benefits under the subsidy reform. The deficit is the result of a considerable gap between state revenues from the abolishment of the subsidies and expenses for paying the monthly cash benefits. The website warned that, unless the government can find budget sources for the cash benefits, it will have to stop transferring them in the last three months of the current Iranian year.

The Fararu website also reported a severe deficit in the budget allocated for the implementation of the program. The website cited a member of the Majles Planning and Budget Committee as saying that the government was forced to borrow large sums of money from the Central Bank to keep up with the payments of the cash benefits. He also said that the government transferred only a small part of the budget it had promised to transfer to the industry and agriculture sectors as part of the reform program.

Government critics increasingly criticize the government for its implementation of the subsidy policy reform, saying that, given the high inflation rate and the continuing devaluation of the local currency against the dollar, there has been a considerable depreciation of the cash benefits transferred to Iranian citizens.

Majles suggests reducing number of official holidays in Iran:
is Nowruz more important than religious holidays?

This week the Majles Research Center submitted a bill to reduce the number of official holidays in Iran from 25 to only 16 days a year. The proposal intends to cut a number of holidays given for some religious observances, including the death anniversaries of Shi’ite imams, and to have them officially recognized in only some of Iran’s provinces. The bill proposed by the Majles Research Center argues that the large number of official holidays in Iran causes considerable economic damage, and that the country’s workforce productivity is considerably lower than in the world’s developed countries.

The bill has reignited the holiday policy debate that has been taking place in Iran in recent years. Proponents of the bill say that the number of official holidays has to be reduced for economic reasons, while critics claim that the low workforce productivity, rather than the number of holidays, is the main problem.

A conservative website criticized the bill proposed by the Majles mainly on religious grounds. The website wondered how it is that the Majles suggests cutting holidays that revolve around religious events while retaining the holiday on Sizdah behdar, the last day of Nowruz (the Iranian New Year), which the website said is associated with a tradition based on "superstition”.

* Mixed-gender education produces "impertinent girls and emotional boys”

Last weekend Mohammad-Hossein Jahanbakhsh, the governor of Bushehr Province, reported the launch of a program for gender segregation among the province’s employees. The program will make it illegal for directors in the province to employ female office workers.

Meanwhile, the head of the Center for Women’s Studies, affiliated with the clerical establishment, said this week that mixed-gender education may cause a "change of sexual identity”. Mohammad-Reza Ziba’inejad strongly criticized the Western education system, saying it attempts to eliminate sexual identity differences, produces "impertinent girls and emotional boys”, and compromises sexual identity, which is reflected in an increase in homosexuality, adultery, and sexual promiscuity.

A number of initiatives have been launched in Iran in recent years to increase gender segregation in public places, including hospitals, public parks, public transportation, and education institutions.

 

Other voices in Iran on British embassy break-in

While officials and media affiliated with government supporters voiced support for last week’s break-in to the British embassy in Tehran, this week there have been more and more voices in Iran expressing reservations about the assault. A number of websites argued that the embassy break-in caused severe damage to Iran’s national interests and gave its enemies more fuel to step up pressure and portray it as a law-breaking country. The websites also said that there is no room for comparison between the supposedly justified takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and the break-in to the embassy of Britain.

Asr-e Iran, a website affiliated with the pragmatic conservative faction, said that Iran’s resistance to Britain is well-founded and justified when considering the latter’s long-standing hostility towards the Iranian people. The resistance, however, must be expressed in such a way as to benefit Iran’s interests rather than harming them. An editorial published by the website said that it is common practice worldwide to rally in front of the embassy of a country against whose policy citizens wish to protest, but the act of protest is undermined when the embassy is broken into and taken over.

The website argued that there is no room for comparison between the British embassy break-in and the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, which took place in the revolutionary atmosphere of the beginning of the Islamic revolution and under completely different conditions than those that are currently in place. Iran’s regime is now stable; it is able to face Britain and take a clear stance towards it.

According to Asr-e Iran, the embassy break-in plays into the hands of Iran’s enemies, turns world public opinion against Iran rather than Britain, and jeopardizes the lives of Iranian diplomats abroad who are now subject to reprisals. If the authorities have come to the conclusion that relations with Britain are unnecessary, they can be easily severed and British diplomats can be expelled. In the unfortunate event of a war with Britain, such military actions as firing missiles on that country can be used as well. It is inappropriate, however, to take measures that can portray the oppressive Britain as the side being attacked, particularly now that the West is on the lookout for any excuse to step up pressure on Iran. Those who claim to support the regime cannot act in a way that puts Iran in the position of having to defend itself on the international scene and forces the authorities to apologize or even pay compensation (Asr-e Iran, November 30).

In a commentary article, the Fararu website argued that the statement made by Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying that it regrets the embassy break-in, released several hours after the incident, shows how much damage it caused to the country’s national interests. The break-in took place at a sensitive time, when the E.U. is looking into the possibility of stepping up economic sanctions against Iran. While Britain’s proposal to tighten the sanctions gained no widespread support from European leaders prior to the incident, as far as Iran is concerned the situation has now changed for the worse.

Unlike the appropriate decision made by the Majles to downgrade the relations with Britain, the attack on the British embassy was meaningless and unjustified. What’s important, Fararu said, is not the assailants’ intent but rather the result of their action, which did a service to Britain and Western anti-Iranian media. The author of the article said that those who broke into the embassy should suffer severe consequences and be brought to trial on charges of compromising national security and causing damage to the regime (Fararu, December 1).

The Alef website also voiced strong criticism of the embassy break-in. Such an extreme act against another country is only acceptable when two conditions are met: when the level of hostility from that country has reached a point where there’s no other way of dealing with it, and when the regime is unable to successfully contend with that country. That was the case, for example, with the 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The United States provided shelter to the deposed shah, while the provisional government in Tehran was unable to deal with it appropriately. In that state of affairs, the students were forced to intervene and break into the U.S. embassy. Now, things are completely different. Even if the first out of the two conditions has been met and Britain did act in a way that requires a strong reaction from Iran, no one can argue that the current Iranian government is unable to deal with it successfully, with the cooperation of the Majles and the Supreme National Security Council. The kind of illegal behavior that took place in the embassy break-in is therefore completely unjustified (Alef, November 30).

Another article published on Alef said that, at a time when Iran is putting considerable efforts into portraying itself as a peaceful country that complies with international law, the attack sends a message to the world that the Iranians are outlaws. The embassy break-in lends credence to Western claims that Iran should not be allowed to continue with its nuclear program, because a country that has no respect for international law can’t possess nuclear capabilities. Even if the action was well-meaning, it caused tremendous damage to Iran, strengthened the claims made by the West and Western propaganda against it, and is even unacceptable on religious grounds (Alef, December 1).

The Iranian Diplomacy website also discussed the comparison between the 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran and the British embassy break-in. The website interviewed Dr. Ma’sumeh Ebtekar, a spokesman for the students who took over the U.S. embassy in 1979, who in the 1990s became a major reformist activist and at one time was Mohammad Khatami’s vice president. Dr. Ebtekar argued that the students took over the U.S. embassy in a revolutionary atmosphere, after becoming concerned that Iran’s security and diplomatic apparatuses could not prevent an American attempt to restore the old regime by a military coup. They saw no way to prevent that from happening other than by taking over the U.S. embassy. The situation in Iran is now completely different. There is a stable government, and no direct threat is posed by Britain to the regime and the revolution (Iranian Diplomacy, December 2).

This week two senior conservative clerics joined the voices expressing reservations about the embassy break-in. In a memorandum of opinion, senior cleric Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi said that any action that violates the law or does not have the approval of the Supreme Leader and the authorities is forbidden. The government of Britain is Iran’s traditional enemy, which has often worked against it, and still does, the cleric noted. Nevertheless, the youngsters who broke into the embassy stirred an unnecessary controversy which gave Iran’s enemies an excuse to take action against it at a time when regional conditions are working in Iran’s favor (Tabnak, December 3). Earlier this week, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, who last week implicitly endorses the break-in, joined those condemning the action and termed it as being "illegal” (ISNA, December 4).

Iranian speculations on Egypt’s Islamists:
Shi’ite-style revolutionaries or Turkish-style democrats?

This week the Iranian press provided extensive coverage of the Islamists’ victory in the first round of elections for the lower house of the Egyptian parliament. In addition to regular reports on the election results, in recent days there have been various speculations on the significance of the Islamists’ victory and the nature of the Islamist faction in Egypt.

On the eve of the anniversary of Imam Husayn’s death in the Battle of Karbala, marked in the Shi’ite world this week, the conservative daily Keyhan chose to portray the Islamist faction in North Africa and Egypt in particular as having pro-Shi’ite inclinations. The daily said that as far back as the days of Sayyid Qutb, a major ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, clerics and the Islamic faction in Egypt had a great deal of respect for the Shi’ites, particularly Husayn, the third Shi’ite imam. The daily discussed the observance of Ashura in North African countries throughout history, offering it as proof that Imam Husayn is particularly revered in those countries and that he enjoys exalted status in North African Islam. Islam in North Africa differs in its characteristics from Islam elsewhere and is closer to the Shi’ite school of thought, Keyhan said. Throughout history, the leaders of Al-Azhar have recognized the Shi’ite school of thought and considered any offense against Shi’ite Islam an offense against the entire religion.

Keyhan argued that North African Islam cannot be compared to the Salafi model operated and directed by Saudi Arabia, which makes that country’s influence on developments in North Africa extremely limited. Salafi groups are well aware of the anti-Salafi social sensitivity in North Africa and therefore attempt to change their image to gain more influence. They conceal their real views and try to penetrate deeper into the social services, distributing money and food to garner as much public support as possible.

The daily also argued that "moderate Islam”, as it is referred to by the West, cannot influence developments in North Africa, since North African Islam is based on the spirit of struggle and the culture of the Prophet’s family, and coincides neither with the model espoused by Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor with any other "anti-revolutionary” model. That is the reason why, throughout Egyptian history, the moderate school of Islam has been unable to gain a firm foothold in that country (Keyhan, December 4).

The portrayal of the Islamist school of thought in Egypt as being close to the Shi’a is yet another example of the complexity of Iran’s approach towards Islamic movements across the globe, in which emphasis is placed both on Muslim unity and unique Shi’ite characteristics. Since the Islamic revolution, Iranian efforts to spread its revolutionary ideology have not been confined to Shi’ite Muslims; Iran extends assistance to Muslim movements and organizations worldwide regardless of whether or not they are willing to embrace Shi’ite Islam. However, Iran’s policy shows a preference for establishing status and influence with Shi’ite Muslims, regarded as standard-bearers for the Islamic revolution.

After Operation Cast Lead (December 2008-January 2009) there were a number of attempts by conservative circles in Iran to associate the struggle of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the activity of Hamas in particular, with Shi’ite Islam. For example, an article published on several websites affiliated with the conservative faction argued that Hamas and the Palestinians are close in their beliefs and religion to Shi’ite Islam, since most Palestinians belong to the Shafi’i school, which, of the four schools of Islam, is considered the closest to Shi’ite Islam in terms of the respect it has for the descendants of the House of Ali. The article listed a number of mosques in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank named after major figures in Shi’ite Islam, such as Ali bin Abi Talib, his wife Fatima al-Zahra, and Husayn bin Ali. In its attempts to associate the Palestinians and Hamas in particular with Shi’ite Islam, Iran sought to add yet another constituent to its relations with the Palestinian movement, which would allow it to expand its influence on the Palestinian scene and take advantage of more opportunities to penetrate the Gaza Strip.

The election results in Egypt were also discussed by the conservative daily Ghods, which defined the victory of the Islamists as "the last nail in the coffin of secularism”. The daily argued that the Islamists’ victory should be considered to reflect the struggle against the Americans. The Egyptian people are well aware that, when the Americans talk about democracy, they don’t mean free elections. Instead, they are interested in taking advantage of democracy to bring the liberals and anti-Islamists to power. The victory underlines the Islamists’ status in the Egyptian society and proves that the Arab public aspires for the implementation of Islamic religious law to eliminate the cooperation between Arab governments and foreign countries (Ghods, December 3).

Contrary to Keyhan and Ghods, reformist thinker Prof. Sadegh Zibakalam argued that the Islamists in the Arab world, including Egypt, are essentially democrats who follow the Turkish model. In an editorial published earlier this week by the reformist daily Shargh, titled "The West and the victory of the Arab Islamists”, Prof. Zibakalam provided an analysis of the reason why the West is not concerned with the victory of the Islamists in the Arab world and is not rushing to the aid of the secular, liberal, and anti-Islamist school. The main reason, according to Zibakalam, is that Islamists in the Arab world are essentially democrats committed to a democratic worldview.

Nearly ten months into the "Arab spring”, the Islamists are not calling for cutting off ties with the United States and Europe; they are not chanting slogans against the West. Even their approach to Israel is fairly moderate, Zibakalam said. Their opposition to the Camp David Accords stems mostly from the Israelis’ failure to promote the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, as stipulated under the accords. The Islamists’ demand to reconsider Egypt’s commitment to the peace treaties does not stem from a desire to eliminate the State of Israel but rather from their wish to promote the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The Islamist mainstream, including the Muslim Brotherhood, supports free elections, the rule of law, freedom of press, existence of political parties and groups, and other democratic demands. This reality puts Turkey as the most important power in the region, reinforces its position, and strengthens its relations with the Islamists in the Arab world. That is the reason why the West is not concerned with the Arab Islamists, just as it is not concerned with the Islamists’ rise to power in Turkey (Shargh, December 3).

Is the government facing growing difficulties in implementing the subsidy policy reform?

Speculations that the government has difficulties implementing the subsidy reform in its current format received support recently when the transfer of cash benefits to the bank accounts of Iranian citizens was delayed by several days. Under the subsidy reform program, launched in late 2010, the government makes monthly deposits of 45.5 thousand tomans (approx. 41 dollars) into the bank accounts of Iranian citizens. The cash benefits are aimed to compensate Iranians for the removal of subsidies on energy products and bread.

This weekend Iranian media reported that the cash benefits had not been deposited into Iranians’ bank accounts on time. The deposits are supposed to be made by the 12th day of each Iranian month so that they can be withdrawn by the middle of the month (Aftab News, December 3). Shortly after the reports appeared, Behrouz Moradi, the chairman of the organization in charge of implementing the subsidy policy reform, said that the cash benefits would be deposited in the beginning of the week, and that they could be withdrawn starting Monday morning (December 5).

The Khabar Online website estimated that the delay in the transfer of the cash benefits has to do with a serious 8-trillion-toman (approx. 7.5 billion dollars) deficit in the budget allocated for the cash benefits under the subsidy reform. The deficit is the result of a considerable gap between state revenues from the abolishment of the subsidies and expenses associated with paying the monthly cash benefits.

Khabar Online cited a member of the Majles Energy Committee as saying that, since the launch of the reform program, state revenues from the removal of subsidies on energy products reached 17.5 trillion tomans, while the government’s expenses for paying the cash benefits reached 25.5 trillion tomans in the same period. The budget deficit is even more severe as the reform program also requires the government to allocate a budget to the industrial sector as compensation for the sharp increase in gasoline and electricity prices.

The website warned that, since the revenues from the removal of the subsidies are insufficient for paying the cash benefits, the government will have to stop transferring the cash benefits in the last three months of the current Iranian year (ending on March 20) unless it can find alternative funding sources  (Khabar Online, December 3).

The Fararu website also said that the first report on the implementation of the subsidy reform program, submitted by the government to the Majles Planning and Budget Committee last week, indicates a severe deficit in the budget allocated for the implementation of the program. Ja’far Qaderi, member of the Majles Planning and Budget Committee, said that the government was forced to borrow large sums of money from the Central Bank to keep up with the payments of the cash benefits. He also said that the government transferred only a small part of the budget it had promised to transfer to the industry and agriculture sectors as part of the reform program (Fararu, December 3).

The government has come under increasing criticism for its implementation of the subsidy policy reform. Former Economy Minister Davoud Danesh-Ja’fari recently expressed his concern over the government’s inability to realize the objectives of the reform. Speaking at a meeting with bazaar merchants in Tehran, the former minister said that the implementation of the reform should be reevaluated in light of the deficit in the budget allocated for the program and the high inflation and unemployment rates (Donya-ye Eqtesad, November 23).

In addition, government critics claim that, given the high inflation rate and the continuing devaluation of the local currency (rial) against the dollar, there has been a considerable depreciation of the cash benefits transferred to Iranian citizens. According to data recently published by the economic daily Donya-ye Eqtesad, the purchasing power of the cash benefits has decreased by tens of percents since the launch of the reform program in late 2010 (Donya-ye Eqtesad, November 29).

Majles suggests reducing number of official holidays in Iran:
is Nowruz more important than religious holidays?

This week the Majles Research Center submitted a bill to reduce the number of official holidays in Iran from 25 to only 16 days a year. The proposal intends to cut several holidays given for religious observances, including the death anniversaries of Shi’ite imams, and to have them officially recognized in only some of Iran’s provinces. For instance, the death anniversary of Imam Reza (the eighth Shi’ite imam) will be recognized as an official holiday only in Khorasan Razavi Province, where he is buried. The proposal of the Majles Research Center allows the government to add holidays ("bridge days”) between official holidays, and to shorten the working day by a limited number of hours during the month of Ramadan.

The bill proposed by the Majles Research Center argues that the large number of official holidays in Iran causes considerable economic damage, and that in the years 2005-2007 state employees received the equivalent of 20 percent of the salaries paid in Iran for vacation days. In its proposal, the Research Center also discusses the low workforce productivity in the country. According to figures released by the center, the number of effective work hours in Iran is considerably smaller than in the world’s developed countries. Twenty-eight out of 44 working hours a week are considered effective in developed countries, compared to only 11 hours in Iran (Asr-e Iran, December 4).

Recent years have seen intense public debate in Iran on the country’s holiday policy. Iranians enjoy nearly 80 days off work (Fridays and at least 25 non-working days due to national and religious holidays). In addition, each Iranian worker is entitled by law to 30 days of paid vacation. Economic experts say that this policy causes billions of dollars’ worth of economic damage per year.

The proposal of the Majles Research Center has reignited the debate on the holiday policy. Majles member Morad Ali Mansouri Reza said in an interview given to the Fararu website that the Supreme Leader also supports reducing the number of holidays. He noted that the fact that Iran’s working week is six days long, compared to five days in most developed countries, requires a relatively large number of holidays. However, the workforce productivity during the six working days has to be high—it cannot be equivalent to only two days of work. Low workforce productivity cannot be allowed to coexist with a large number of holidays, the Majles member said. He further added that a country that strives to advance economically has to exert considerable efforts and improve its workforce productivity.

Kazem Delkhoush, member of the Majles Economy Committee, discussed the problem which stems from the fact that holidays in Iran do not coincide with holidays in most other countries in the world. While Iran’s weekend holiday is Friday, other countries have their weekend holidays on Saturday and Sunday, which damages Iran’s economic and international relations. Speaking about the proposal of the Majles Research Center, Delkhoush said that the problem is not the number of holidays but rather the way working days are put to use. He also noted that it is inappropriate for particular religious observances to be considered holidays only in some of Iran’s provinces, since the Shi’ite imams belong to the whole nation rather than just to one province (Fararu, December 4).

The conservative website www.598.ir criticized the bill proposed by the Majles mainly on religious grounds. The website wondered how it is that the Majles suggests cutting holidays that revolve around religious events while retaining the holiday on Sizdah behdar, the last day of Nowruz (the Iranian New Year). It is wrong, the website said, that days associated with Shi’ite faith should not be recognized as official holidays, when a day associated with traditions based on "superstitions” is recognized as one. In the past, senior clerics and even the Supreme Leader discussed the significance of the death anniversaries of the Shi’ite imams for strengthening the Islamic sentiments of the public, which indicates, according to the website, how important these days are for the Islamic and Shi’ite society (www.598.ir, December 5).

Mixed-gender education produces "impertinent girls and emotional boys”

Last weekend Mohammad-Hossein Jahanbakhsh, the governor of Bushehr Province, reported the launch of a program for gender segregation among the province’s employees. The program will make it illegal for directors in the province to employ female office workers. Speaking at a meeting with inspectors on behalf of the headquarters for "Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil” (al-amr bil-ma’roof wal-nahi ‘an il-munkar), the governor said that the enforcement of Islamic law and dress code should be stepped up in government ministries and government organizations supervised by the Supreme Leader (Fars, December 1).

Meanwhile, the head of the Center for Women’s Studies (Daftar-e Motaleat ve Tahqiqat-e Zanan), affiliated with the clerical establishment, said that mixed-gender education may cause a "change of sexual identity”. Speaking at a conference for those employed at the Center for the Management of Women’s Religious Seminaries, Mohammad-Reza Ziba’inejad strongly criticized the Western system of co-education, saying it attempts to eliminate sexual identity differences and produces "impertinent girls and emotional boys”. He said that the damage to sexual identity shows itself in an increase in homosexuality, adultery, and sexual promiscuity (www.digarban.com, December 1)

http://www.digarban.com/node/3471

A number of initiatives have been launched in Iran in recent years to increase gender segregation in society. Among other things, the Ministry of Science is pushing forward a program to establish separate universities for men and women, while government ministries encourage work-from-home programs for female employees. In addition, conservative circles repeatedly call for the increase of gender segregation in public places, including hospitals, public parks, public transportation, and education institutions

Pictures of the week: Shi’ite mourning events: Tasua and Ashura

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