Iranian Baha’i student interviewed in The Times

Ruth Gledhill, religious correspondent of The Times, has posted an interview on her blog with an Iranian Baha’i student who is currently living in London.

The student is here to study music, having been excluded from higher education in Iran purely on grounds of being a Baha’i. She had a childhood dream to be a pianist but had to go to Moscow to study. Even when she had graduated with distinction, because she was a Baha’i she could neither perform in Iran nor even give piano lessons.

She decided to come to the UK to pursue further study in freedom.

Sadly, things are likely to get worse for the Baha’is in Iran. A resolution condemning the egregious human rights perpetrated by the Iranian government has been initiated by Canada at the UN General Assembly. The motion includes mention of the situation of the Baha’is. Sadly, the motion may well be stopped in its tracks by a “no action motion” put forward by Iran. If the majority of countries vote for the no action motion, the substantive motion will not even be debated and Iran’s appalling human rights record will go uncondemned by the world’s main international forum.

There’s no doubt that the Iranian government will intensify its pressure on the Baha’is in fulfilment of a policy approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei in 1991. The policy sets out the means for undermining the survival of the Baha’i community in Iran, means which include denial of access to education.

Read Ruth Gledhill’s interview with the Baha’i music student and watch a short video of her playing two piano pieces here.

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