A Member of Parliament Says the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade Does Not Provide Cars to Mothers; Another Sign of the Failure of Childbearing Plans

A member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly has reported the failure to fulfill promises made regarding childbearing, stating that the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade is not providing cars to mothers, and the delivery of land to mothers has not materialized, with 200,000 people currently waiting for free land. Fatemeh Mohammadbeigi mentioned that 270,000 mothers have received cars so far, and nearly twice that number are on the waiting list. In an interview with Radio Tehran, this member of parliament confirmed that some sectors did not comply with the 'Youth Population' law, citing budgetary challenges as the reason. According to Mohammadbeigi, due to lack of budget allocation, 50% of this law has not been implemented. The head of the 'Population and Family Support' faction in parliament also stated that only 35,000 families have received free land for having three children, while 200,000 families are waiting for these lands. The childbearing policy, centered around financial incentives and cash handouts, has been consistently criticized by experts and analysts. In this regard, the Ham-Mihan newspaper, on February 28, criticized the policies of President Raisi regarding childbearing, stating: 'In the past two years, the government has spent tens of thousands of billion tomans of the people's money, directly or indirectly, on childbearing issues, yet the statistics of childbearing have not only shown no progress but have also regressed.' The newspaper addressed Ebrahim Raisi, asking, 'You spend so much and are constantly engaged in cultural promotion; why is population growth decreasing instead of increasing?' The author criticized Raisi, asking, 'Could you announce the number of children of your cabinet members so it can be seen how they relate to the culture of childbearing? How many children have your children had? Are you willing to facilitate such a study?' Experts believe that the issue of childbearing is directly related to the economic conditions of the people, and in a situation where the population below the poverty line is increasing daily, one cannot expect population growth. Therefore, the Ham-Mihan newspaper has requested that the 'National Population Headquarters' officially announce the reasons for the complete failure of current policies and the childbearing law. The economic conditions have also caused the government's measures to increase the population to be ineffective, with Iranian media reporting the futility of 'cash handout' policies for increasing the population and stating that the special housing loan intended for 'childbearing' requires a 'huge salary.' Ali Khamenei, in his position as the leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly emphasized childbearing, making population growth one of the serious demands of the Supreme Leader. In this context, on May 17, 2022, Khamenei described the aging population of Iran in the future as 'horrific' and considered the effort to increase the population as one of the 'most essential duties' of officials and the public. Population growth in Iran has approached zero with a decline in quality of life. The wheel of population growth policy is stuck; emphasis on 'childbearing' is overshadowed by the 5 million tomans pacifier. The heavy consequences of stagflation; confirmation of widespread buying and selling of 'marriage loans' by government officials. Twelve million singles in Iran; increasing age of marriage and the ineffectiveness of population growth policies. Consequences of housing inflation; decrease in 'marriage,' fall in birth rates.