An Iranian chemist criticizing Iran
January 22, 2002

-----Original Message-----
From: Ala, Mohammad
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2002 11:26 PM
Subject: Silicon Valley Technology Curiosity, tenacity took chemist from
Iran to the clouds.

I was teaching most of today so I did not get a chance to reply to an
e-mail in regard to a successful Iranian chemist.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/azadeh012202.htm

I am happy to see interesting discussions among our members (some old
timers and some new ones). I would like to share some of my thoughts
and experiences of teaching in Iran and the U.S. among other countries.

As I mentioned in my first e-mail, I was happy to read a report about a
successful Iranian. Also, I had written why many Iranians who come to
the U.S. do so little for their country and forget where they have come
from. Is it because we are "namak na shenas?!" or that we have no sense
of social responsibility toward those who have given us who we have
become?

In the report, there was several quotations from the successful chemist,
I quote, "In Tehran, there was nothing, I knew that no matter how good
you are, if you were a woman you had almost no chance of doing what you
wanted. I do not think you could have majored in science or
engineering."

The above quotation shows that she might have a lot of achievements but
she does not enjoy a basic ability to evaluate objects free of bias.
Let me elaborate. The majority of Iranian university students are
female. They win the most scientific Olympiads. The majority of
Iranian physicians are female. There are some Western educated Iranian
female who have returned to help the people in Iran. I was referring to
our numbers who go back to Iran or work in Iran why is so small?

If there have been hard times in Iran it has been for both sexes. For
example, universities were closed because of Enghelab Farhangi
(educational revolution) from 1981 to 1983. There were many people who
were denied going to college because of tahghighat (checking the
background not to be against the revolution) which was not limited to
female students. Therefore, her accusation of gender bias is baseless.

Because of my years of teaching and association in Iran, I can offer
several examples from both genders. A female, who went to college in
Iran after the universities were opened, successfully completed her
medical degree in Iran. At present time, this lady is a medical doctor
and a leading medical professor at Massachusetts General Hospital. She
was not a religious person or as it is said in western media, she was
not a hezbollahi. She practiced her own belief and traveled freely to
other countries. Another story is about a male student who was rejected
because he did not pass political and social background check. This
student had an excellent entrance examination record several years in a
row. After things settled in Iran, he entered Sharif University (old
Aryameher University) and finally received his Master's degree in
Electrical Engineering. He came to the U.S. and received a Ph.D. from
MIT and now teaches at MIT in addition to running his own lab. This
person has won more than twenty international awards.

As I mentioned in my brief e-mail, Iran will not change for better if we
turn our backs towards it. We received free education in Iran. Many
families paid for their children to come to the Western countries and
receive their higher education. We were brought up in a rich cultural
and educational environment. Many have forgotten where they came from
or where they received their free training and education, however, there
are some who go back to give and teach the young what they have learned.

There are a handful of Iranians who have given up their time and money
to help their communities. These dedicated hamvatans spend their
limited time and money that they should spend on their own families. I
hope that more people who can afford the time or the money to come
forward and share the burden of our community.

Mohammad Ala, (www.iic.org)
www.persiangulfonline.org
www.iran-heritage.org