I thought the standard explanation for this was that in patriarchal societies women get "hard" degrees because that's their only way out of being oppressed as a housewife, and in more egalitarian societies women pursue what they like?
It doesn't have to be one or the other, either. Whether women excel in science and medicine is not the sole indicator of their status in society.
The west only accepts Iranian women with degrees (same for men, same for any other place for that matter, if they accept anyone at all, and for obvious reasons Russia is out, especially for men)
In other words, yes, the islamic revolution is making women smarter. Men too, but not to the same degree. But in the worst way possible. By putting a gun to their head and torturing them non-stop, then effectively letting the smartest 5% out.
Yes regime apologists want to call that "making women smarter" because "torturing women", what islam actually does, sounds ... unlikely to gather support for stopping the war and it's not like they care about these women.
Also, to pursue a hard STEM degree or phd would detract from being a housewife, so no “oppressive” husband would allow that in the first place. Ergo the women pursuing these paths are not oppressed in the first place.
It does not assume that. Even with equal enjoyment of multiple subjects, there's a lot of other factors that affect what you study. And you can enjoy subjects that aren't your favorite.
> Also, to pursue a hard STEM degree or phd would detract from being a housewife, so no “oppressive” husband would allow that in the first place. Ergo the women pursuing these paths are not oppressed in the first place.
What percent of the women in these programs are already married? That counterargument only applies to women that currently have husbands, not women worried about future husbands.
The percent of women being married is irrelevant. Women can be oppressed even if they are not married due to societal expectations. If a single woman is expected not to pursue education and simply become a housewife, then it’s irrelevant whether she is married or not. She is oppressed. However, that is literally a contradiction because STEM education shows high representation of women in Iran.
Honestly there are a lot of people here asserting what they think are facts who don’t have the slightest idea how the world works outside their own city, let alone country. I would encourage some critical thinking when it comes to stuff like this.
The OP is suggesting women are becoming highly educated in technically difficult fields due to oppression. It makes literally no sense. Either they are oppressed and cannot get ahead, or maybe they are able to freely pursue education contradicting the original assertion.