Home
Home

Support Baha'i Students in Iran

Download PDF:
Timeline: Iranian Baha'is
blocked from universities
Since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has blocked the 300,000-member Baha'i community from higher education, refusing young Baha'is entry into universities and colleges. The government has also sought to close down Baha'i efforts to establish their own institutions of higher learning. Click here to learn more and get the latest news updates.
How can you help?
Students, faculty and academics around the world are protesting the treatment of Baha'i students in Iran and calling for equitable access to higher education in Iran. Review the sample actions below and consider how you can help.
Join a social network devoted to defending the rights of Baha'is in Iran

Organize a  public event on campus with like-minded organizations

Meet with university faculty and administrators and ask them to write letters of protest

Ask faculty or student associations to pass resolutions on this issue

Approach campus media or write op-ed pieces 
 
 
Join a social network devoted to defending the rights of Baha'is in Iran
Several groups on Facebook are devoted to this issue. Consider joining "Support Baha'i Students in Iran" to receive the latest updates and see what others around the United States are doing.
 
Organize a  public event on campus with like-minded organizations
Visit the discussion boards on the Facebook group "Support Baha'i Students in Iran" to see what various campus organizations are doing.
 
Meet with university faculty and administrators to inform them of the issue and ask them to write letters of protest
Letters of protest may be written to the UN Secretary General, the UN high commissioner for human rights, UNESCO's director-general, UNICEF's executive director and Iran's representatives to the United Nations.
 
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
United Nations
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary General
United Nations, S378
New York, NY 10017
His Excellency Mohammad Javad Zarif
Permanent Representative of the
Islamic Republic of Iran to the United States
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Mrs. Louise Arbour
High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Director-General Koichiro Matsuura
UNESCO
2, United Nations Plaza, room 900
NY 10017 New York
 

A few sample letters are posted here:

President Faust of Harvard University has also sent a letter to the Permanent Representative of Iran at the United Nations expressing her concern regarding the systematic denial of access to higher education to members of the Bahá’í community in Iran.

With a strong desire to assist Bahá’í students in Iran, Bahá’í faculty members in Western Massachusetts came together and consulted about how they could best raise awareness about the situation in the many colleges and universities in their region. They realized that with a collective name, they could have a much stronger impact, and decided to form the Association of Bahá’í Higher Education Professionals of Western Massachusetts.  Through this Association, they wrote an open letter to their fellow colleagues informing them about how Bahá’í students are denied access to higher education in Iran, and also asking them to take action in three different ways:

    1. Learn more about the situation by visiting the site: http://www.bahai.us/denial-education-iran.
    2. Write a letter of protest to the UN Secretary General, the UN high commissioner for human rights, UNESCO's director-general, and Iran's representative to the United Nations.
    3. Speak out to other colleagues, students and to the person who sent this message and if appropriate request a speaker or panel from our Speakers bureau for their class or professional gathering.

 
 If letters were written in the past and received no reply, a follow up letter would be in order; if a reply was received assuring some action on the part of the organization, then it would be appropriate at this time to ask for confirmation of steps taken.

Supporters should also be asked to write to local and national think tanks, research institutes, and non-governmental organizations, concerned with education, the rights of children, social development, and minority rights, encouraging them to take action on behalf of the Iranian Baha'i students.  Information on such organizations can be found online or in local directories.
 
Ask faculty or student associations to pass resolutions on this issue and send copies to the officials noted above
Some sample resolutions are posted here:
University of Toledo Faculty Senate Resolution -- Toledo, OH
UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly Resolution — Berkely, CA
Palomar College Faculty Senate Resolution — San Marcos, CA
Oregon State University Faculty Senate Resolution — Corvallis, OR
New York University Student Bar Association Resolution — New York, NY
 
Approach campus media or write op-ed pieces
A few sample articles and op-eds are posted here:
National Public Radio, "This I Believe" program - 2007
Daily Lobo - Univ of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM - November 8, 2007
The Daily Utah Chronicle - Univ of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT - October 19, 2007
The Independent Collegian - Univ of Toledo, OH - September 27, 2007
The Independent Collegian, opinion piece - Univ of Toledo, OH - September 27, 2007