STEM scholars worldwide express solidarity with Iranian protesters

Several women STEM scientists at major universities internationally have written and distributed a statement that affirms support of the grassroots movement in Iran for women’s and human rights.

More than 2600 STEM scholars and allies from around the world, including Iran, signed the statement before it was released publicly on 19 October. The statement is meant “to show support for our colleagues and collaborators back home,” says a professor who was involved in drafting the statement and requested anonymity.

Sparked by the 16 September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Tehran, protesters continue to take to the streets and university campuses across Iran. Amini died in police custody a few days after she was arrested for wearing her hijab too loosely and showing some of her hair.

The protests have grown beyond outrage at Amini’s treatment. Fatemeh Shams, who lives in exile and teaches Persian literature at the University of Pennsylvania, told the New Yorker that “what’s happening right now was a response to the brutal killing of this innocent woman. But at this point it has gone much beyond that.” The “core of this revolutionary movement,” she said, “is the bodily autonomy of women.”

Women outnumber men among STEM students in Iran. That is also true for some leadership positions in industry, the anonymous professor says. In academia, however, women face additional barriers to getting jobs. One reason, she explains, is that most universities are public, and employees are subject to government rules regarding religious adherence. “So if a woman doesn’t wear her hijab properly, she may not be eligible for a job.”

To leave Iran, including to attend a conference or study abroad, a woman must by law have permission from her father, husband, or other legal male guardian. Scientists outside the country could help students and colleagues by providing access to research materials and virtual conferences, the professor says.

As the protests continue, most universities in Iran are shuttered, internet access is intermittent—making online classes impossible—and the government is threatening to fire scholars who speak up, the anonymous professor says. She has heard from academic colleagues in Iran about students being arrested, and about their fears of their lives being in danger and of retaliation from the government.

Human rights protests erupt in Iran every few years, notes the professor. They usually die off in a week or two, she says, “but it feels different this time.” This protest movement is organic and leaderless, she says, and the feeling is comparable to the US outrage after George Floyd was murdered by police in 2020. The protests have become a “rights movement, with women leading,” she says. The protesters are mostly peaceful, many women remove their hijabs, and they chant “women, life, freedom.”

Another Iranian expat STEM professor, who is based at an East Coast US university, says he doesn’t anticipate the current protests fading anytime soon. And, though moral support is one aim of the statement by STEM women and a letter in Chemical & Engineering News, both of which he has signed, he says he hopes that agitation from supporters around the world will lead to real pressure on the Iranian regime to change.

The new STEM statement concludes: