Colleagues,

I just received links to a very distressing story about Iran banning women from many Science, Engineering, and Education fields:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/iran-universities-women-ban_n_1819281.html#slide=more227940
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ida-lichter-md/iran-war-on-women-students-may-backfire_b_1833513.html

“In the coming academic year, 36 universities will implement exclusion of women from 77 fields of study, including chemistry, computer science, nuclear physics, engineering, business management, education and English. Gholamrez Rashed, the head of the University of Petroleum Technology, declared: “We do not need female students at all.”

Science Minister Kamran Daneshjoo claimed that sexual segregation was of the utmost priority in order to uphold moral standards and effect greater balance in gender enrolment. About 70 percent of science graduates are female.”

While I am still digesting and reflecting on this shocking news, I believe that the CWSEs Network should develop a statement of response to this move and encourage our institutions to also develop a response.  There are so many talented women engineers and scientists in Iran and they are a bright light for that country.  I know so many of them that have come to Canada to study – they are incredibly smart, determined and successful.  It is a complete travesty and a human rights injustice to exclude them from these fields and we need to do our part to send a message back that the world will not ignore the plight of bright young women in Iran.

I look forward to discussing this with you as we move forward together.

Best regards,

Elizabeth

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