Bahá'í students fight for equality

Imagine being denied education based solely on a religious belief. Some students in Iran are facing this dilemma, and Bahá'í students at UT are finding ways to help solve this.

Those of the Bahá'í faith in Iran, the largest minority group in the country with about 6 million followers worldwide, have been denied full access to a higher education and have been discriminated against and persecuted by the Iranian government since 1979.

UT's Bahá'í population is taking a step on campus to change the way things are in Iran, even though they are thousands of miles away.

In 1993, the Iranian government officially declared that those of the Bahá'í faith should be expelled from universities.

"[They] have been expelled just for their religion," said Asiyih Modarai, a junior majoring in history and art history, who is also the secretary for the Bahá'í Campus Association at UT.

"The government of Iran sought to deprive its largest minority of a higher education," she said.

However, the Bahá'í Campus Association is taking a step with other Bahá'í students across the country and around the world by denouncing the government's persecution of those of the Bahá'í faith in Iran. Students are writing to university officials as well as government officials, asking them to condemn the denial of higher education based on religious belief only.

If this matter is brought to the attention of the international community and the United Nations, then there is a chance that the Iranian government might change its policies due to international pressure, Modarai said.

Sharon Barnes, associate professor of interdisciplinary studies, is helping Modarai and other Bahá'í students get the message out to faculty. She presented a resolution from the students to the Faculty Senate on Tuesday, where it passed unanimously.

"What has worked for people trying to make change in Iran is international pressure," Barnes said at Tuesday's meeting.

Modarai thinks it has a chance of working in this situation as well.

"If the international community puts pressure on Iran to change their policy," Modarai said, "[then] I have faith we can make a difference."

The resolution from the group wants Faculty Senate to criticize what is going on in Iran and to recognize that this is a violation of human rights.

The group wants this "denunciation in letters" to be distributed to the U.N. and the U.S. representative for Iran.

"[Faculty Senate] believe in higher learning for everyone," Modarai said. "It's their job to listen to the students."

The resolution was accepted Tuesday, and Faculty Senate will make a couple of revisions to the resolution before sending it out.

"I'm just really happy that everything worked out," Modarai said. "It reflects really well on the Faculty Senate that they care enough to take on this issue."

"We will wait to see what happens [next]," she said.

The Iranian government denied higher education to Bahá'ís because it feels the group is a "threat," Modarai said.

"They oppress them in hopes that they won't practice their faith," Modarai said.

This year, 800 of the 1,050 Bahá'í who sat for an entrance exam did not receive their results, Modarai said.

"I hope to see enough outside pressure so it can eventually change for the better," Modarai said.

Modarai's father is from Iran, and she said it has often been unsafe for the Bahá'ís over there.

"There are many Bahá'ís in the United States that have left Iran in order to escape persecution and find a better life," she said.

There are about four Bahá'ís on campus, and they hold interfaith prayers on Friday and support events that local Bahá'ís are doing, Modarai said. There are about 20 Bahá'ís in Toledo.