This was actually written by a friend of mine at Human Rights Watch and bears notice. Bahai’s are a discriminated class in Iran and are often ignored by the Diaspora completely. In Iran, they have in many cases been uprooted from their homes, denied access to resources equal and on par with other Iranians, and even violently attacked strictly on the basis of their religion. As HRW reports:
International Baha’i organizations and Baha’i students in Iran reported to Human Rights Watch that authorities at the National Education Measurement and Evaluation Organization have denied 800 Baha’i students access to their National Entrance Examination scores. The test is a national matriculation exam required for admission to Iran’s universities.
The Iranian government has said that if Baha’ís identify themselves as Muslims on the exams they would be allowed to enroll to take exams but may not take exams as Bahai’s. I think too often in the discourse on Iran we neglect minority rights. And while both the Jewish and Christian communities in Iran have certainly received attention to their own individualized persecution, it would be completely contrary to the principles of universal human rights to neglect Bahai’s as is often done inside and outside of Iran. These issues should not be neglected.
