Iran has closed some gender gaps, although Iranian women still do not have equal rights and protections under the law and in practice. Female literacy has almost quadrupled since 1980 and was within ten percentage points of male literacy in 2015. Since 2000, women have made up about half of all university students and have increased as a percentage of students enrolled in primary education.

The make-up of Iran’s parliament has gradually shifted since 1980. Political participation is up. More than 12,000 Iranians registered to run in the 2016 election. Women, in particular, signed up in large numbers—a total of 1,434. Both set a new record. Meanwhile, the proportion of clerics in Parliament has steadily decreased from some 61 percent in 1980 to six percent in 2016. For the first time, females outnumber clerics.

Iranian society has undergone dramatic changes since the 1979 revolution. Population has doubled. People are living longer. Cities have swelled due to an influx of people from rural areas. Iran has lowered its population growth rate to a manageable level, winning the United Nations Population Award in 1999 for its achievements in family planning and improving reproductive health.

 

The Islamic Republic has also worked to improve education for its citizens.

On May 24, hardliner cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati was elected chairman of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics and scholars tasked with overseeing and appointing the supreme leader.

In another sign of a gradual diplomatic thaw, the United States has returned 73 ancient artifacts to Iran.