Women and Education in Iran and Afghanistan

Book excerpt: Women and Education in Iran and Afghanistan originated as part of the Mo'alem Project sponsored by the Harvard Center on Gender and Education. Recent U.S. investment in the area of girls and women's education in predominately Muslim countries has increased the activities of a myriad of NGOs and other organizations focused on improving female education in these countries. This annotated guide includes listings for fiction and nonfiction books, academic articles, government publications, journals, and select theses, newspaper, and magazine publications written from approximately 1975 to the present. Because literature in this field is limited, the authors have included a broad range of pieces, including those that may not meet rigorous academic screening. Each listing is accompanied by a brief descriptive abstract. In addition, two timelines are included to track the women's movement as well as policy development and events that have occurred in the political, economic, and education sectors of each country from the early 1900s to the early 2000s. The work also includes an introduction providing the context and need for this information, and a foreword by Golnar Mehran, renowned Iranian scholar and education practitioner. This reference source is not only valuable to researchers specifically interested in gender and education issues in Iran and Afghanistan, but also to scholars who are interested in these issues in Muslim countries in general. Those who consult this annotated bibliography will be able to understand the broader sociopolitical and economic climate of the country for any given piece.