Iran’s Nobel Prize Laureate has criticized the government in Tehran for its policy towards welfare of children and young people.
In her monthly report on the state of human rights in Iran, Shirin Ebadi said poor government policy is threatening the future of the younger generation in Iran.
“Wrong educational programs and macroeconomic policies coupled with mismanagement and corruption in the bureaucracy threaten the future of our children,” she said.
According to Ebadi, the Islamic republic, which stands at odds with the international community over a number of issues, is giving priority to defence and military spending, neglecting the welfare of its younger people.
Ebadi claimed that one million children are forced every year to abandon school because of poverty.
Recent census indicates that Iran has 11.6 million students, out of which 6.7 million are in elementary school and 4.9 million in high school.
The population stands at 75.1 million, of which 23.5 per cent are under the age of 15.
For the past few years, the country has been under significant economic pressure despite unprecedented levels of oil income resulting from oil-price increases.
According to official figures the rate of inflation stands at 26 per cent and the rate of unemployment is just under 13 per cent. However, the opposition claims that the figures are much higher and that international sanctions as well as bad government policies are the main causes of the problem.
Ebadi quoted reports that now children as young as 11 are being infected by Aids and mostly by sexual contact.
The Tehran Aids Research Centre recently estimated that 4 per cent of the children who live and work on the streets are infected by Aids.
There are no exact figures for the total number of “street children” in Iran but between one and two million children under 15 are estimated to be at work, mostly in small workshops.
Ebadi accused the government of failing to provide information campaigns for these social groups.
“Schools do not provide educational programs about Aids and the problem is not discussed in the media,” She said. “Even the cabinet has decided to categorize condoms as a luxury product and to ban their import.”
The recent decision to ban the import of condoms was made because international sanctions are forcing the government to economize and save valuable foreign currency.
The government has also abandoned it's family control program in order to encourage population growth.
The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently announced that Iran should have a population of 120 million people and therefore the government should not encourage birth control.
State controled media has said population growth is an important factor in economic development and strategic strength.
Ebadi, a staunch critic of the Islamic Republic, won the Peace Nobel Prize in 2003 for her activities in defence of human rights. Her recent report covered the November-December 2012 period.
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