#BBCtrending: The Iranian president's surprising tweet

[eppur_se_muova]

The president of Iran has broken new ground by tweeting a photo of a female mathematician without a hijab. His decision prompted a powerful reaction on social media.

The mathematician in question - Maryam Mirzakhani - is Iranian, and recently became the first woman to win the Fields Medal for her pioneering work in the field. President Rouhani tweeted a message expressing his delight at the news. "Congrats to #MaryamMirzakhani on becoming the first ever woman to win the #FieldsMedal, making us Iranians very proud," he said. The surprise came by way of two pictures he attached to the message. In one half the mathematician appeared wearing a hijab - required by law for women in Iran, and in the other she appeared bare-headed. The image has been retweeted almost 3,000 times, and caused a deluge of comments online.

Many criticised the gesture as hypocritical. "Will you encourage women in Iran to study and be successful like her? Or are you gonna oppress them like always?" said one. "#Iran diaspora so excited abt Prez Rouhani's use of Mirzakhani pics; Silent as women increasingly banned from various fields in universities," said another, referring to a range of restrictions placed the subjects women could study two years ago.

It's been suggested that Rouhani was sending a message to highly qualified Iranian women, in an attempt to reverse the country's "brain drain". The response to the image on the president's alternative Farsi language Twitter account appeared to confirm that. "This will encourage young people in Iran. Don't let them to think that immigration is the only way," said one user. Tens of thousands of women have left the country in recent years to enhance their careers in Europe and North America. Indeed, Mirzakhani herself left the country after completing her undergraduate degree, and is now resident in the US.

Others felt the president was playing it safe. "It's probably to appease both sides... you'd be surprised how many trolls knock Muslim women for not wearing 'proper' attire," said one. Perhaps indicative of the more liberal tendencies of Iranians who use Twitter, very few expressed outrage at the decision.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-28787057




Wow -- the first time anything involving Twitter has actually caught my interest. There's a lot of interesting things interacting in this article; worth a quick read (WARNING: much longer than 140 characters).

[malaise]

1. Interesting development

Iran should celebrate this significant achievement and so should the rest of us

We had a thread about her
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025377784

[frazzled]

2. Side story that may or may not be relevant here

When my son began his graduate studies in pure mathematics at a major university here in the States (it was fall 2008, and he has since completed his Ph.D.), he told me that he was particularly excited about meeting another student who had not yet arrived, someone working in the area in which he was interested: an Iranian woman. She had not yet arrived on campus because there were apparently "problems" with her visa, and the department was trying to help out. Several months later I asked him about the Iranian student, and he told me she had not been able to come.

At the time, I assumed the US government had put roadblocks in the way of her coming here. Only today, reading this, I realize it may have been the Iranian government putting roadblocks in the way of her leaving.

Sad either way ... but many congratulations still to Maryam Mirzakhani.