The violent crackdown on the longest-lasting anti-government protests in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the escalating oppression against women have contributed to the growing trend of female brain drain in recent months.
According to official statistics, over the past two years, more than 10,000 healthcare workers have left Iran. The Iran Migration Observatory reports that, based on the data from the last decade alone, approximately 65,000 skilled workers have been emigrating from Iran annually.
Despite women making up 60% of students in Iran, their representation in the labor force is a mere 15%. The recent violent crackdown on protests in the fall and winter of 2022, along with an escalation of pressure on women, has further intensified the trend of ‘feminist’ brain drain in recent months.
Sociologist Mehrdad Dervishpour explains, “When protests don’t lead to a solution and protesters don’t see a way to change anything, when they have no prospects for the future, they resort to the strategy of emigration.”
“We’re seeing a phenomenon of female migration from Iran, even though a progressive feminist movement with worldwide resonance has sprung up there,” Darvishpour said. “Iran’s rulers have no interest in societal reconciliation. They rely on fear and oppression.”
The oppression is escalating
The Iranian Parliament recently ramped up pressure on women who defy national orders to cover their heads as instructed. After months of discussion, the legislature waved through a law allowing harsher penalties on women who break clothing regulations: up to 10 years in prison.
The ‘Bill to Support the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab’ foresees prison sentences of between five and 10 years for women who fail to wear a headscarf or dress “inappropriately” in collaboration with “foreign or hostile governments, media, groups or organisations”.
The law also paves the way for fines for individuals who “promote nudity” or target the mandatory Islamic headscarf (hijab) in the media or on online networks. Business owners whose female employees violate the dress code may be banned from leaving the country in future.
Source: DW