50% Increase in Adoption Rates in Iran Over the Past Three Years

The Director General of the Children and Adolescents Affairs Office of the Welfare Organization announced a 50% increase in adoption rates in Iran over the past three years. Mohammad Nafarieh stated in an interview with Mehr News Agency on Wednesday, July 14, that infants, especially baby girls, are the most commonly chosen for adoption. According to Mr. Nafarieh, 1,400 children are placed for adoption by the Welfare Organization each year, and the adoption rate in Iran has seen a nearly 50% increase since 2013. He also mentioned that some families have even accepted children with disabilities for adoption. However, he called for a change in the 'view towards adoption' and emphasized that attention should also be given to 'older children and children with disabilities' in adoption processes. Nafarieh also referred to a recently approved law allowing single women over 30 to adopt children, stating that this law has been welcomed and has demand across the country. According to this law, single women over 35 can only adopt baby girls and are not permitted to adopt boys. Among the necessary conditions for these individuals are 'not having a significant criminal conviction in accordance with the provisions of the Islamic Penal Code, financial capability, not being under guardianship, belief in one of the religions specified in the Constitution, necessary physical and mental health, financial and practical ability to care for and raise children and adolescents under guardianship, not being addicted to drugs, psychotropic substances, or alcohol, moral competence, and not suffering from contagious and incurable diseases.' These statements come at a time when the head of the Welfare Organization recently stated that most children in the organization's centers are 'ill-supervised and there is no possibility for their permanent placement.' Anoushiravan Mohseni Bandpay told ISNA that these types of children can be placed with families as 'temporary wards,' although there is 'low demand' in this area. The Welfare Organization currently cares for 25,000 children in Iran, and 10,000 children are also covered by semi-family centers of the Welfare Organization. According to the Director General of the Children and Adolescents Affairs Office, 'most boys under the care of the Welfare Organization go to university or military service after the age of 18,' and 'girls are also under care until they are ready and have not married, and they are kept in supported homes.'