The term “Gozinesh” [“ideological screening”] has been around Iran’s post-revolutionary legal and administrative discourse for a long time. It is often a topic of discussion among a public that is discontent with the performance of the regime bureaucracy. In fact, it is so unpopular that some of the regime’s high officials have denounced and criticized it at times too.

The most memorable denouncement of Gozinesh by a high official goes back to Ayatollah Khomeini’s letter in the winter of 1361 [1983], in which he asked for halting “extremism in the issue of Gozinesh” and warned about the “possibility of devil’s influence in this area.” The letter was written to a department in charge of processing judicial and administrative violations. Nevertheless, and despite the Ayatollah’s warning, lawmakers and administrators expanded the scope of Gozinesh and established new committees for this purpose.

The topic of Gozinesh, which creates inequality in access to public resources and social opportunities, is undoubtedly one of the most fundamental challenges facing the human rights movement in Iran. Especially, since this violation of the citizens’ rights is acknowledged by the regime to be legitimate and is implemented on a daily basis. We noticed only a small part of its wide scope during the “starred” students scandal.

The International Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the rights of equal access to opportunities and public positions. It is very difficult for Iran’s administrative system, however, to recognize these rights as legitimate. In this system, the kind of ideology, religious beliefs, gender, and political preferences play the important role in a person’s employment opportunities.

Like many others, I had also heard the stories about how important a man’s shave or a woman’s covering is in a person application for a public position. I always regarded this as a matter of habit or custom, which is not backed by any written law. But I was incorrect.

A while ago, during my research, I came across Amendment 3 to Article 16 of the Gozinesh law, which was passed in 1363 [1985]. This Amendment says, “The criteria [for employment] are devotion to Islam’s teachings, proper appearance, and observing religious duties.” Similarly, Amendment 2 to Article 2 states that a woman’s covering can be used as criteria for determining employment when jobs are limited and demand is high.

I was at least happy that during all these years a “law” was actually implemented. I was wondering whether the writers of human rights declarations, who always call for an end to discrimination on the basis of race, skin color, language, religion, political views, nationality, and wealth, ever thought about discrimination on the basis of “proper appearance”.