Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions: The Ideological Discourse of the Government in Schools Has Failed

On Thursday, May 17, the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions stated in their Telegram channel that the ideology and ideological discourse of the government in schools has failed. This national teachers' organization referred to the publication of an image showing the mayor of Zanjan, Alireza Firouzfar, visiting a Quranic school where officials forced girls wearing mandatory hijab to bow before him, adding, 'This photo symbolizes the patriarchy and repression of the educational system and the disciplinary and developmental discourse in schools.' The council further noted, 'This image illustrates the ultimate goal of ideological education; an education that aims to homogenize and subjugate children and control the bodies of girls.' The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions pointed out, 'This image is a symbol of the militarization of schools; the very thing that trade union activists and the council have been fighting against for years. Today, religious and Quranic schools, which are managed under the strictest control of the ruling ideology, are the best places for the government to establish this ideology and model it for other schools.' According to this teachers' union, 'If educational elites could, they would send this photo as a model in the form of a circular to schools to show what they have in mind when they talk about reaching the peak or when the Minister of Education speaks of being a model. However, they will not be able to implement such programs because they know well that Iranian girls have defeated the dominant ideology through daily resistance from school to street.' Meanwhile, the Zanjan Education Department described the image published by Iranian media as 'fake news circulating on social media' in a video that was cut off at the beginning. This government agency also criticized what it called 'destructive content on social media against organizations supporting educational and developmental activities in schools.' The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions condemned the 'exploitation of students' and called on aware teachers and parents to 'stand against these actions and expose those responsible.' They added, 'We warn the administrators and those who have become agents of repression in schools that if this trend continues, we will introduce them as repressive figures.' This national teachers' organization emphasized to the educational elites, 'Your ideology and developmental and ideological discourse in schools have failed.' The council stated, 'This image does not symbolize the girls of Iran; the symbols of the girls and students of this land are the likes of Nika, Sarina, and Armita, who sacrificed their lives for the ideals of freedom and equality by refusing to bow to your unjust and repressive order. You know well that they are your nightmare; thus, expect rebellion from students and girls in schools where you still have power and can stage these ridiculous displays.' The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions stressed to the authorities, 'This is the beginning of your end in religious and special schools; history will testify to this.'