Hosted by the Oxford University Baha'i Society in collaboration with the Middle East Centre and the St Antony's International Review

Whilst Iran is in the news often, there is little attention given to the internal human rights situation, especially that of its minorities. How do they fare in modern day Iran and why? The treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran differs among groups and the situation has been variable since the 1979 revolution. However, one religious minority community has faced consistent and escalating persecution by state authorities. Why has the Baha'i community been singled out for the harshest of treatment and why have its members been excluded from educational and employment opportunities?

Nazila Ghanea is University Lecturer in International Human Rights Law at Oxford and a Fellow of Kellogg College. She is the author of Human Rights, the UN, and the Baha'is of Iran, and numerous articles on minority rights in the Middle East.