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UPDATE: 8:30 PM CET<\/span><\/p>\n With the start of the new school year, the Minister of Education of the Raisi cabinet announced a comprehensive purification plan in schools and the replacement of 20,000 school principals. Iran’s so-called “purification” of its education system is actually a purge of dissident educational staff and their replacement with forces loyal to the regime.<\/p>\n Reza Moradi Sahraee said<\/a>, “This year, nearly 20,000 school principals were changed to create a transformation in schools. Also, 7,000 schools were identified in the transformation plan, and this year we will start our activities in 5,000 schools.”<\/p>\n The state-run Tasnim news agency also reported that out of a total of over 106,000 public schools in Iran, about 7,000 schools (11.19%) lack piped water from urban or rural areas.\u00a0The report refers to the Ministry of Education’s statistics on the health status of schools and states that more than 5,000 schools lack toilets and that about 12,000 schools lack a sanitary sewage system.<\/p>\n A new draft law that would enshrine harsh punishments for women and girls who fail to wear a hijab in Iran could amount to \u201cgender apartheid,\u201d UN experts said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe draft law could be described as a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to be governing through systemic discrimination with the intention of suppressing women and girls into total submission,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n The\u00a0proposed legislation<\/a>, which is currently under review by the Iranian parliament, would establish harsh penalties for women who refuse to wear the veil \u2013 including long jail sentences. The 70-article draft law also proposes stiff new penalties for celebrities and businesses who flout the rules and the use of artificial intelligence to identify women in breach of the dress code.<\/p>\n Read more<\/a><\/p>\n UPDATE: 2:30 PM CET<\/span><\/p>\n Following yet another blaze in Iran’s part of the Hoor al-Azim wetland on September 21, Musa Modehji<\/a>, the head of the Hoveyzeh Environmental Department, stated, “Water scarcity has led to the Hoor al-Azim wetland fires in western Khuzestan.”<\/p>\n He added, “Ensuring the required water supply for Hoor al-Azim is the only way to prevent wildfires.”<\/p>\n Hoor al-Azim is one of the country’s most important wetlands, and the last surviving wetland in this region in the world, with one-third of it located in Iran and two-thirds in Iraq. This wetland has faced challenges due to an 80% reduction in the flow of the Karkheh River and the construction of the Samireh Dam upstream of the river in Ilam, as well as ambitious oil exploration operations by the regime. Hoor al-Azim is recognized for being a critical filter against fine particles, and its drying has resulted in the formation of dust storms.<\/p>\n On Sunday morning, September 24, workers at the Urmia cement factory withdrew from work and went on strike, demanding an increase in wages. They say that while the factory managers receive over 60 million tomans in salary, workers cannot make a living with a monthly wage of 12 million tomans and cope with a staggering high inflation and soaring prices of basic items. There are contractual workers with up to 25 years of experience who receive only 7 million tomans in wages.<\/p>\n September 23\u2014Urmia, northwest #Iran<\/a> — People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 24, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nAmid Serious Shortages in Iran’s Educational System, Regime Prioritizes Political Purging<\/h3>\n
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\n\u2018Gender Apartheid\u2019: Un Experts Denounce Iran\u2019s Proposed Hijab Law<\/h3>\n
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\nHoor al-Azim Wetland Ignites Once Again<\/h3>\n
![\"iran](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/iran-hoor-al-azim-1.jpg\" "\\"iran")
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\nSunday Protests in Iran<\/h3>\n
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Workers of the Urmia Cement Factory on strike, demanding higher salaries.
According to the workers, the managers of the factory are earning more than 600 million rials per month while workers with 120 million rials can't make ends meet.
Some\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/HLF4rvRNze<\/a><\/p>\n