Rouhani's Order on Mixed Student Camps Following Khamenei's Criticism

Following repeated criticism from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding mixed camps for male and female students, the Secretary of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council announced that President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the preparation of a "documentary report" on this matter. According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Mohammad Reza Makber Dezfuli, the council's secretary, said on Wednesday, November 18, that "in the meeting of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, the President assigned the task of preparing a documentary report on the occurrences in this regard and to follow up on the Supreme Leader's warning to ensure that such matters are definitely prevented." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated on Wednesday, November 10, that "some have mistaken cultural work at the university for concerts and mixed camps; what benefit have the Westerners gained from mixing? Islam has recognized man and has issued rulings on hijab and non-mixing." He had previously spoken in several private meetings with government officials about the necessity of separating male and female students in Iran. In a video of his remarks to the government delegation of Mohammad Khatami that was published online, he remarked: "Is this what it means for universities to become Islamic? A mixed camp? I was very surprised. A mixed student camp? Girls and boys in a mixed camp? Well, the essence of a mixed camp is bad. It is very irregular work." Four days after the Supreme Leader's recent comments, Mohammad Farhadi, the Minister of Science, announced that a directive regarding the prohibition of mixed camps had been sent to universities. Mr. Farhadi also denied that mixed camps were being held by universities. He emphasized: "We have repeatedly advised university officials not to hold mixed camps. We did not have and will not have mixed camps." In this context, Hamid Mirzadeh, the head of Azad University, also stated on Tuesday, November 25, that holding mixed camps is "not part of this university's programs and will not be." The insistence from the Supreme Leader and denial from university officials comes at a time when in recent years, some student organizations and conservative news websites have protested against mixed camps in universities. Meanwhile, Zia Hashemi, the cultural deputy of the Minister of Science, stated on Tuesday, August 4, that holding mixed camps is "illegal." During the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, some programs for gender segregation in universities began. Kamran Daneshjoo, the Minister of Science in the tenth government, also announced in 2010 that no university has the right to hold mixed student camps. In that same year, the Kalemeh website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reported that at least 50 students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the University of Science and Technology in Tehran were sentenced to one semester of academic suspension for participating in a mixed camp.