For the past 30 years, members of the Baha’i faith, the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, have been denied access to higher education by the Iranian government.

The Baha’i Community of Colorado Springs will host an open discussion and showing of the documentary “Education Under Fire” — which highlights the plight of these persecuted teachers and students — at 7 p.m. Monday at the Rockrimmon Library, 832 Village Center Drive.

“We want to raise awareness about the withholding of education rights of religious minorities in Iran,” said Saraiya Ruano, a senior at Colorado College and Baha’i member who helped organize the event. “It’s important to know about our world family and the injustices that are happening, and to be concerned with the needs of our time and our age.”

Since 1987, the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education has provided the only access to university-level education available to the Iranian Baha’i community. Government forces have raided homes where BIHE members offered “underground” higher education classes, confiscating materials and arresting the teachers who defied government policy. Some teachers received four- to five-year prison sentences because of these raids.

Another goal of the awareness campaign is to encourage U.S. colleges to consider accepting higher education credits issued by the BIHE, Ruana said.

“That way, some of those students can continue their education here,” said Ruana, adding that “the purpose of having this screening is not just to show a documentary, but to start a discussion.”

The 30-minute film was produced as part of a public awareness and education campaign supported by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations.

Elise Auerbach, Iran specialist for Amnesty International USA, called the film “one of the most powerful human documentaries” she had seen.

“ ‘Education Under Fire’ is sure to galvanize viewers who will be exposed to an outrage that until now has received little attention — the systematic denial of an entire religious community of the right to pursue higher education in their own country.”

On Jan. 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution “condemning the government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.”

The resolution was the 12th of its kind passed by the House since 1982.

For information, visit education

underfire.com.