I recently attended an event on campus called Education Under Fire. It was presented
by the Amnesty International Club and showed a viewing of the movie than a discussion
with a woman from Iran who actually experienced the devastation going on. The
film was about the Baha’I in Iran being denied higher education by the
government because of their religion.
They are not allowed to attend universities with other people and these
universities strictly prohibit any Baha’I people coming into them. The Baha’I must declare their religion
on the application and once a university sees that a person applying is a Baha’I,
they are instantly rejected. Even
with a good GPA, the Baha’I are still denied from these universities. The Baha’I are often dragged out of
classrooms at gun point because they are not allowed to receive the same
education as other people in Iran.
Being
denied higher education from universities and the government, the Baha’I
established their own higher education institute. This institute is called the Baha’I Institute for Higher
Education (BIHE) and it is for the Baha’I to attend and gain a higher
education. The Iranian government however
has tried to demolish and shut down this institute, but the Baha’I however continue
to progress the institute and improve its qualities. Cruel executions happen to the Baha’I because of their
religion. They are denied many
basic human rights that everyone should be entitled to. They are not allowed to drink out of
the same water fountains as Muslims at school and if a Muslim tries to drink
out of the Baha’I drinking fountain they are yelled at because Muslims and
Baha’I aren’t supposed to interact.
At a very young age the Baha’I are discriminated against and treated
unfairly. Many are sent to prison
because of their beliefs. The woman who spoke from Iran told a story of how she
hadn’t seen her family for sixteen years because of being detained because of
their Baha’I religion. She said that they could easily solve their tribulations
by simply saying that they were Muslim, but they would never turn their back on
their religion and what they believe in. Being denied higher education as well
as many other things, the Baha’Is human rights are clearly being violated. They are deprived of higher education because
of their beliefs and this is a shame.
Action needs to be taken on the Baha’is behalf to change this
discrimination and cruelty they face every day. The government needs to stop discriminating against these
people and treat them with respect and allow everyone to practice their beliefs
freely. There is hope for these
people with the increasing awareness of what is going on in Iran being spread
across the world. With this
awareness will come a solution and the Baha’I people will finally be able to
practice their beliefs without being denied human rights. To take action against the education under fire in Iran visit the website http://action.educationunderfire.com/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=6910
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