Students at the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran have protested after authorities at the school imposed gender segregation in university libraries.
The Sharif Today Telegram channel, which covers events at the university, reported on October 9 that “the Faculty of Energy separated study halls by [gender], which led to student protests,” without specifying when exactly the measure was imposed or if the leadership of the university responded to the protest.
The channel also published photos of students sitting in the library of Sharif University's Faculty of Energy during the protest.
Gender segregation has long been a contentious issue at Iranian universities.
Over the past four decades, various university facilities, including cafeterias and libraries, have seen the implementation of the gender-segregation policy, sparking protests from students. Some universities have even been established exclusively for one gender.
In August, a student group reported that officials at Ferdowsi University in the city of Mashhad had decided to segregate classes by gender for the upcoming school year.
Iranian authorities increased pressure on universities following the beginning of anti-government protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022.
According to human rights activists, more than 140 major Iranian universities have held protest gatherings in the aftermath of Amini’s death.
More than 750 students were detained for their participation in the protests and many are now facing severe prison sentences. Hundreds of students and professors, especially those challenging the mandatory hijab, or head scarf, have been subjected to various punitive measures, including suspensions and expulsions.
Among the most-recent cases is the suspension of Ali Asghar Khodayari, a pro-reformist professor at the University of Tehran’s Faculty of Mining Engineering.
The Telegram channel United Students, which covers student activism in Iran, reported on October 9 that he was banned from teaching. Khodayari later confirmed the report with a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Universities have historically been a battleground in the fight for social and political reforms in Iran.
During the Islamic Revolution of 1979, university students played a prominent role, including the occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. After the clerics came to power, the authorities instigated a mass purge of Iranian universities, firing hundreds of professors and altering curriculums to promote Islamic values.
Since the revolution, university students have voiced their opposition to the clerical establishment, including during a 1999 protest against the closure of a reformist newspaper, resulting in a raid on a dormitory at Tehran University that left one student dead.
The protests against Amini's death in September 2022 led to renewed pressure against students, specifically female students who failed to comply with the hijab law. The 22-year-old was in police custody for an alleged head-scarf violation when she died days after first being detained.