In the United States, receiving a star when you're in school typically means something positive. For students at all levels, from medical school to community college, at some point in their childhood a teacher may have rewarded students with stars. But in Iran, stars mean something much different.
In Iran, a star means you are a threat to the state. In Iran, a star means you are partially or completely banned from receiving an education.
I know this story all too well.
I am an exiled Iranian attending SUNY Albany's master's program in management and public administration. How did I get here?
In 2006, when applying for my master's degree, I was notified I had been starred by the Iranian government. This came as a surprise to me because, while I became active in student affairs and political issues as an undergrad, my participation was legal and nonviolent.
Since I was given two stars, I received a warning; I could either stop participating in political activities or I would be expelled. Rather than dissuading me from getting involved, the stars came to represent an even bigger incentive to join the fight for democracy and human rights in Iran.
With two stars next to my name, I started my master's program and was elected president of the Office for Consolidating Unity, the largest student union for democracy and human rights in Iran. I was arrested four times in the course of my political and student activism, and shortly after my last sentence, was barred from defending my thesis and banned from receiving further education in Iran.
My story is not unique. Some have been able to flee Iran, depriving the country of some of its best and brightest young people. Others, like student activist Zia Nabavi, have been forced to stay, deprived of any access to education and imprisoned with charges of "creating unease in the public mind."
Iran's admissions laws grant the country's intelligence unit the power to determine whether or not a citizen merits an education. The decision is based primarily on religious and ideological requirements and not academic achievement. Perceived opponents of the state or unrecognized religious minorities can be denied — no questions asked.
In light of President Hassan Rouhani's new moderate approach, Iran's Ministry of Higher Education announced in September that recently starred students could reenroll in universities. Those banned from continuing their education prior to 2011, however, would have to re-take the nationwide university entrance tests.
While I welcome the decision, I believe the measure does not go far enough.
We were all deprived of the most natural right in society, yet only a small fraction have been offered the possibility to return. Student activists like Mahdieh Golroo tried to re-enroll but were rejected by the committee put in place to determine the fate of new applications. Laws mandating religious and ideological admissions criteria remain on the books, while intelligence agencies still intervene in universities. Baha'is, who comprise the largest group of citizens denied access to education, are not even on the government's agenda for possible reform, and continue to be systematically denied access to higher education.
Rightfully, Rouhani's rhetoric and slight improvements have been embraced by the international community. Unaided, however, none of the policies that violate international human rights will be significantly altered. Human rights safeguards cannot be based on the personal attitude of temporarily elected officials, but rather on the laws and sustainable policies of the land.
The international community must continue to pressure the Iranian government to reconsider such deeply rooted practices. The passage of the United Nations General Assembly's vote last month on the promotion and protection of human rights in Iran was the right mechanism to start. The next step is to encourage Iran to cooperate with Ahmed Shaheed, the U.N. special rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran. Only through this engagement will the world be able to verify the real impact and sustainability of Rouhani's reforms. These efforts will show Iran that member states are invested in guaranteeing the universal right to education — regardless of political affiliations or religious beliefs.