A considerable progress has been made towards gender equality in the Iranian education over the past decades. The study of various educational indicators points to such a fact. The most significant progress has been made at the primary and secondary education levels where the gender parity index (GPI) since 2000 has been 0.96 and 0.92, respectively. The purpose of this article is to identify the key factors that have led to higher gender equality at the primary and secondary education levels in Iran. It analyzes the educational, social, political, economic, and cultural elements that have acted as facilitating factors, and points to effective policies and innovative measures undertaken. It also identifies the in-school and out-of-school obstacles that continue to hinder efforts to close the gender gap in education. A situation analysis of the educational trend over the past decades; an analysis of the stages of the revolution, the "Question of Woman", and the dual role of women in post-revolutionary Iran; and the portrayal of the political will and popular demand for education illustrate some of the causes of increased gender equality. On the other hand, the three basic principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran -namely, politicization, Islamization, and equalization- have paved the road for increased female participation in education.Despite major achievements in the realm of female education, shortcomings persist mainly in terms of lack of access to schooling among poor, rural, and nomadic girls. Furthermore, the continued existence of a gender insensitive school curriculum that portrays stereotypical images of men and women in textbooks creates a traditional mentality that direct female students away from what have been labelled as "male-oriented" fields of study.Significant shortcomings notwithstanding, one can see a cycle in female education in Iran in which the ruling elite seeks to educate the ideal female citizen according to the principles of an Islamizing and revolutionary society, thus creating a generation of educated women who, in turn, influence their society and act as role models for young girls, who then seek education as a means of equality and empowerment.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) complicates 3-7% of all pregnancies and feto-maternal outcomes are strongly related to early diagnosis of GDM. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of risk factors in the prediction of an abnormal glucose challenge test (GCT).Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted during 2009-2010 in two prenatal clinics in Rey, Iran. A total of 711 pregnant women who were in their first trimester of pregnancy and met the inclusion criteria were selected. The women were observed once every other week until 24-28 weeks of gestation. All patients at 24-28 weeks of gestation were screened with 50 g oral glucose GCT. The effects of pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), maternal age, and weight gain until the time of GCT, and parity on abnormal GCT were evaluated. All confident intervals were calculated at the 95% level. Data was analyzed using student’s t test and the logistic regression test.Results: Maternal age (p<0.001), pre-pregnancy BMI (p<0.00), parity (p=0.05) and weight gain during pregnancy (p=0.05), were significantly higher in women with abnormal GCT compared to women who had normal GCT. Logistic regression analyses confirmed that pre-pregnancy BMI (OR=1.09), maternal age (OR=1.14), and weight gain during pregnancy (OR=1.13) were associated with abnormal GCT.Conclusion: Weight gain had a profound impact on the prevalence of abnormal GCT in our population. Therefore, we propose that pregnant women should only gain the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy.

Background: Different parts of the skeletal system have been studied in different studies to determine gender. The pelvis is one of the most important skeletal components for the determination of gender and identification of humans. Objectives: The current study aimed to determine gender using the ischiopubic index and upper pelvic index in the adult population of Iran. Methods: In this study, 140 individuals (70 male and 70 female subjects) referring to Athari Imaging Center in Tehran, Iran, for various medical reasons entered the study by giving written and oral consent using the convenience sampling method. Measurements were performed on digital anteroposterior pelvic radiographs (with standard conditions and radiographic stencil distance from the light source as 100 cm). The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22). Results: The mean ischemic index of the whole population was 108. 88  13. 75. The diff erence in the ischiopubic index between male and female subjects was signifi cant (P < 0. 05). The mean upper pelvic index of the whole study population was 81. 70  10. 09; however, the diff erence in the upper pelvic index between the two groups of male and female subjects was not signifi cant (P < 0. 05). Conclusions: The pelvic ischemic index in Iranian women is higher than that reported for men. If the ischiopubic index is higher than 103, with 93% sensitivity and 73% specifi city, it would be female. According to the study of graphs, if there is a special identity for diagnosis, there will be the possibility to match the graph before the death of the individual with the graph taken from skeletal remains.

Background: Pregnancy is associated with structural and functional changes in the cardiovascular system as well as obesity, high blood triglyceride concentration, and increased risk of metabolic syndrome.Objective: The aim of this study was to compare parity between women with established coronary heart disease and normal women in general population.Materials and Methods: Totally, 105 women referred for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery during a period of more than one year were enrolled. Total fertility rate (TFR) was evaluated in this group of patients and we also compared TFR of these women with that of normal women.Results: Based on the results, 884 pregnancies were occurred in total of 105 patients (mean parity=8.34). There was a significant difference between the TFR of the CABG patients and the TFR of the normal women in 1966 (p value=0.038), the TFR of the normal women in the past 40 years (p value<0.001), the TFR of the normal women in province of Sistan and Baluchistan (p value<0.001).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the number of pregnancy is an independent risk factor associated with coronary artery disease.