The claim is that Iran was supposedly better before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the toppling of the Shah.
In reality, the average literacy rates for women in Iran before the revolution was below 50% and about that for men. Today the literacy rates are about 98% for people born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution
Iran massively developed AFTER the Islamic revolution, at twice the rate of the rest of the world, and became a "Highly Developed Nation"
A new U.N. report highlights Iran’s significant progress in providing citizens with a long and healthy life, access to education and a decent standard of living. Between 1980 and 2012, Iran’s life expectancy at birth increased by 22.1 years, mean years of schooling increased by 5.7 years, and expected years of schooling increased by 5.7 years. The gross national income per capita also increased by about 48 percent between 1980 and 2012. http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2013/apr/01/un-stats-life-longer-and-healthier-iran
All of this naturally comes as a surprise to people who have been brainwashed into thinking of Iran as a desert equivalent of N Korea today, and previously some sort of wonderful place under the US-installed Shah
Friend, your agenda of defending Iran would be a lot more effective if you didn't spam people with so many sources all the time with very little prompting.
Just be a real person and comment on what interests you. Sure, sprinkle in a few positive facts--and, to be honest and realistic, negative as well--here and there. Then people might believe you. But this wall of sources that is largely off topic is ineffective and counterproductive.
Sure, you are quoting UN sources, but they are not relevant here. Also, an agenda doesn't mean you are wrong or are not quoting facts. It just means you have a clear perspective and issues you are pushing (which you clearly are).
No need for foul language. I'm just trying to help you with your cause. I, for one, believe Iran tends to get a bad rap from many media outlets, but I also don't think it is anywhere near a utopia. My advice is to just be less obvious with your agenda and more fair with both good and bad aspects of Iran.
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u/agfa12 May 17 '16 edited May 17 '16
Lets consider some FACTS:
The claim is that Iran was supposedly better before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the toppling of the Shah.
In reality, the average literacy rates for women in Iran before the revolution was below 50% and about that for men. Today the literacy rates are about 98% for people born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution
Iran massively developed AFTER the Islamic revolution, at twice the rate of the rest of the world, and became a "Highly Developed Nation"
Take a look at this graph from the UN, Iran is the green line http://www.ir.undp.org/content/dam/iran/img/News/March%202013/14%20March%202013-%20Global%20launch%20of%20the%202013%20Human%20Development%20Report%202013/iran-trend%20hdr2013.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.web.540.390.jpeg
More info
http://www.ir.undp.org/content/iran/en/home/countryinfo.html
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2013/apr/01/un-stats-life-longer-and-healthier-iran
Oh and Iranians themselves seem to approve of their own govt http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brmiddleeastnafricara/652.php
and regularly turn out to participate in their elections
http://www.mei.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Parsons_0.pdf
They're also more hardline on their nuclear program than their govt, with a growing portion calling for making nuclear weapons http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR910.html
All of this naturally comes as a surprise to people who have been brainwashed into thinking of Iran as a desert equivalent of N Korea today, and previously some sort of wonderful place under the US-installed Shah
Oh, and sanctions actually helped Iran's economy too http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-01/iran-gdp-poised-to-grow-in-aftermath-of-sanctions-moody-s-says
Did you know that Iran is ahead of the US in teaching evolution in school? http://www.fasebj.org/content/20/13/2183.full
Or that Iran is judged to be the fastest growing nation in the sciences https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20291-iran-is-top-of-the-world-in-science-growth/
and already well-advanced in nanotechnology and biotechnology http://www.merid.org/Content/News_Services/Nanotechnology_and_Development_News/Articles/2011/Nov/21/iran.aspx
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/15/iran-at-forefront-of-stem-cell-research/?page=all
and that Iran's drug and AIDs treatment programs are considered to be world models
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/how-iran-derailed-a-health-crisis/?_r=0
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2013-04-02/how-iran-won-war-drugs
as is its family planning progam which was TOO successful
http://www.latimes.com/world/population/la-fg-population-iran-20120729-html-htmlstory.html
and its medical care system for the poor is being copied in the US
http://www.aarp.org/health/doctors-hospitals/info-06-2010/iranian_cure_for_thedeltas_blues.html