Iran has stepped up gender separation in universities, with a number of universities already announcing that men and women will be taught in separate classes, and the government saying further requests by universities would be looked on positively.
President of Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, Seyed Sadredin Shariati, announced in January that separation of men and women would be implemented for subjects with large numbers of students.
In a bid to dispel fears that the university might provide a lower quality education to women, he stressed it did not mean separate courses, rather separate teaching for men and women in different classes.
Male and Female students in Iran already sit in separate rows in lecture theatres and classrooms. University libraries and canteens also have segregated areas.
