French Foreign Minister: Iran Making Dialogue 'Impossible'
October 9 -- During an exclusive interview with Radio Farda, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner expressed frustration at Iran's lack of cooperation over its nuclear program: "We are for dialogue. But where is the dialogue? Every time we met with the Iranians it was impossible to pursue a dialogue." [read in English / read in Persian]
Government Quotas Keep Women Out of College
October 8 -- Women's rights activist Bahareh Hedayat says government-imposed gender quotas will dash the hopes of Iranian women who hoped a university education would prepare them to play a role in Iran's future. [read in Persian]
Are Normalized US-Iran Relations Needed to Promote Democracy?
October 7 -- American Iranian Council (AIC) President Hooshang Amirahmadi, Washington-former Iranian diplomat Mehrdad Khansari and Tehran-based journalists Isa Saharkhiz and Mehdi Mahdavi-Azad participate in Radio Farda's weekly roundtable "Viewpoints." [read in Persian]
Labor Protests Continue
October 6 -- A participant says employees of the Alborz Tire Factory protested in front of Iran's Labor Ministry, demanding payment of six months' unpaid wages and the reopening of the factory: "We believe none of their words anymore." [read in Persian]
Student Describes Police Brutality at Rally
October 5 -- Mahdieh Golroo, who took part in a rally in front of the Iranian Parliament organized by students banned from university because of their views, says "[the police] beat me and another female student with batons and called us names... Parliament members passed by without taking the slightest notice." [read in Persian]
Radio Farda Marks Day of Non-Violence
October 2 -- Toronto University professor, writer and philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo, who was imprisoned in Iran for four months in 2006, says that while most political bodies in Iran seek solutions in the destruction of the enemy, "I think that in any society, including Iran, all come to understand that problems cannot be tackled through violence." [read in Persian]