a women’s college, while accepting students, has
not assented to any of the proposed specializations
and has instead focused on prerequisites and a few
main courses, delaying the decision about better-
suited specializations within its program until later.
The same holds for the College of Social Sciences at
Tehran University, which is to begin accepting stu-
dents in women’s studies in 2003/4 without speci-
fying any specialization within the program. The
publicly stated intent at Tehran University is to
develop the program either without specialization
or introduce specializations different from those
approved.
So far none of the private or semi-private univer-
sities have shown interest in the development of
women’s studies programs, and chances of them
showing interest are slim given the lack of a strong
demand for the establishment of such programs.
However, now that several programs have been
established at public universities, the likely trend
will be an increasing attempt on the part of various
iran 787civil society forces interested in women’s issues,
particularly as represented in the vibrant women’s
press, to shape the evolution of these programs in
directions that will take them beyond the existing
state-imposed limits. Already critics have pointed
out the lack of qualified instructors as well as the
oddity of having a master of arts degree in women’s
studies without the existence of the prerequisite
women’s studies courses at the bachelor level. They
have also questioned the top-down, male-domi-
nated process that led to the creation of what some
worry will become mere “for show” women’s stud-
ies programs developed by the Ministry of Sciences,
Research, and Technology.Bibliography
P. Ardalàn, Majira-hayah ta≠sis-i rishti-yi mu†àli≠àt-i
zanàn, in Zanàn81 (2001), 36–40.
N. Moti≠, Rishti-yi mu†àli≠àt-i zanàn. Ta≠liq-i vaqi≠iat ya
ta±in-i muqi≠iat-i zanàn-i îràn?, in Zanàn80 (2001),
36–7.Farideh Farhi