100 Women 2015: Iranian women's fight for freedom
By Faranak Amidi BBC Persian Service
29 November 2015
Women in Iran are taking photos of themselves without headscarves as part of an online campaign by journalist Masih Alinejad
Iran is better known for its religious conservatism than its history of women's rights. But although it might not be obvious to outsiders, women in Iran enjoy more freedom than many others in the Middle East.
As well as having the right to vote, many are members of parliament. Unlike Saudi women they are allowed to drive, to work and participate in economic life. Most significantly, they make up more than 70% of students in Iran.
But these freedoms were not achieved without the struggle and sacrifice of many extraordinary women.
It is often said that education holds the key to freedom, something understood by early Iranian feminists like Bibi Fatemeh Estarabadi.
Just 30 years after Estarabadi's primary school opened, these women became the first to enrol in university in Iran.
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