Education of Iran
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Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 11. Roughly four-fifths of men and two-thirds of women are literate. Primary education is followed by a three-year guidance cycle, which assesses students’ aptitudes and determines whether they will enter an academic, scientific, or vocational program during high school. Policy changes initiated since the revolution eliminated coeducational schools and required all schools and universities to promote Islamic values. The latter is a reaction to the strong current of Western secularism that permeated higher education under the monarchy. Adherence to the prevalent political dogma has long been an important factor for students and faculty who wish to succeed in Iranian universities. In fact, acceptance to universities in Iran is largely based on a candidate’s personal piety, either real or perceived.
The University of Tehrān was founded in 1934, and several more universities, teachers’ colleges, and technical schools have been established since then. Iran’s institutes of higher learning suffered after the revolution, however, when tens of thousands of professors and instructors either fled the country or were dismissed because of their secularism or association with the monarchy. Iran’s universities have remained understaffed, and thus student enrollment has dropped in a country that greatly esteems higher education. The shortage of skilled teachers has led the government to encourage students to study abroad, in an effort to improve the quality and quantity of advanced degree holders and faculty. While overall enrollment numbers have fallen, the rate of women’s admission at the university level has climbed dramatically, and by 2000 more than half of incoming students were women.
The public school system is controlled by the Ministry of Education and Training. Universities are under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education and Culture, and medical schools are under the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education.
Cultural life
Cultural milieu
Few countries enjoy such a long cultural heritage as does Iran, and few people are so aware of and articulate about their deep cultural tradition as are the Iranians. Iran, or Persia, as a historical entity, dates to the time of the Achaemenids (about 2,500 years ago), and, despite political, religious, and historic changes, Iranians maintain a deep connection to their past. Although daily life in modern Iran is closely interwoven with Shiʿi Islam, the country’s art, literature, and architecture are an ever-present reminder of its deep national tradition and of a broader literary culture that during the premodern period spread throughout the Middle East and South Asia. Much of Iran’s modern history can be attributed to the essential tension that existed between the Shiʿi piety promoted by Iran’s clergy and the Persian cultural legacy—in which religion played a subordinate role—proffered by the Pahlavi monarchy.
Despite the predominance of Persian culture, Iran remains a multiethnic state, and the country’s Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, and smaller ethnic minorities each have their own literary and historical traditions dating back many centuries, even—in the case of the Armenians—to the pre-Christian era. These groups frequently maintain close connections with the larger cultural life of their kindred outside Iran.
Daily life and social customs
The narrative of martyrdom has been an essential component of Shiʿi culture, which can be traced to the massacre in 680 of the third imam, al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, along with his close family and followers at the Battle of Karbala by the troops of the Umayyad caliph, Yazīd, during al-Ḥusayn’s failed attempt to restore his family line to political power. As a minority in the Islamic community, the Shiʿah faced much persecution and, according to Shiʿi doctrine, offered up many martyrs over the centuries because of their belief in the right of the line of ʿAlī to political rule and religious leadership. Each year on the anniversary of the massacre, the Shiʿah commemorate the Karbala tragedy during the holiday of ʿĀshūrāʾ through the taʿziyyah (passion play) and through rituals of self-flagellation with bare hands and, sometimes, with chains and blades. These acts of mourning continue throughout the year in the practice of the rawẕah khānī, a ritual of mourning in which a storyteller, the rawẕah khān, incites the assembled—who are frequently gathered at a special place of mourning called a ḥosayniyyeh—to tears by tales of the death of al-Ḥusayn.
The commemoration of Karbala has permeated all of Persian culture and finds expression in poetry, music, and the solemn Shiʿi view of the world. No religious ceremony is complete without a reference to Karbala, and no month passes without at least one day of mourning. None of the efforts of the monarchy, such as the annual festivals of art and the encouragement of musicians and native crafts, succeeded in changing this basic attitude; public displays of laughter and joy remain undesirable, even sinful, in some circles.
Iranians do celebrate several festive occasions. In addition to the two Eids (from Arabic ʿīd: “holiday”), Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr—practiced by Sunnis and Shiʿis alike—the most important holidays are Nōrūz, the Persian New Year, and the birthday of the 12th imam, whose second coming the Shiʿah expect in the end of days. The Nōrūz celebration begins on the last Wednesday of the old year, is followed by a weeklong holiday, and continues until the 13th day of the new year, which is a day for picnicking in the countryside. On the 12th imam’s birthday, cities sparkle with lights, and the bazaars are decorated and teem with shoppers.
Persian cuisine, although strongly influenced by the culinary traditions of the Arab world and the subcontinent, is largely a product of the geography and domestic food products of Iran. Rice is a dietary staple, and meat—mostly lamb—plays a part in virtually every meal. Vegetables are central to the Iranian diet, with onions an ingredient of virtually every dish. Herding has long been a traditional part of the economy, and dairy products—milk, cheese, and particularly yogurt—are common ingredients in Persian dishes. Traditional Persian cuisine tends to favor subtle flavors and relatively simple preparations such as khūresh (stew) and kabobs. Saffron is the most distinctive spice used, but many other flavorings—including lime, mint, turmeric, and rosewater—are common, as are pomegranates and walnuts.
