Eight Consequences of Poverty in Iranian Society

According to two indicators, the minimum wage (about 800,000 tomans) and the number of people who are government employees and pensioners (mostly with salaries below three million tomans), two-thirds of Iranians live below the relative poverty line. Official statistics indicate that about 10 million people are government employees and pensioners, with only 150,000 managers and about 30,000 university professors earning above the relative poverty line (about three million tomans per month). This means about half of the country's population. Additionally, workers and farmers in the non-government sector mostly earn below three million tomans per month. Thus, it can easily be said that more than two-thirds of the country's population lives below the relative poverty line, and a portion of this population, about 10 to 15 million people, lives below the absolute poverty line. The rise in the official unemployment rate (1.2 percent in 2016), with unofficial statistics ranging from 25 to 30 percent, increased liquidity (up to 2.1 trillion tomans), leading to recession and inflation, rising foreign currency rates, devaluation of the national currency, widespread resource wastage, systemic corruption, spending national resources on foreign military interventions, and very low foreign investment (due to hostility with the West) are factors that have contributed to the impoverishment of Iranian society over the past four decades. This phenomenon has led to the emergence or exacerbation of social harms at the community level. Neither state-owned companies (which account for about three-quarters of the state budget), nor the economic and financial empire of the IRGC, nor the financial and economic institutions under the leader's supervision—which drain public budgets—provide reports on what happens to the country's resources to the people. These three empires, in addition to consuming national resources, have also restricted people's participation in economic activities through the monopolies they have created. In this article, I will refer to eight distressing, unpleasant, and sometimes heinous phenomena that mainly indicate the poverty of society, namely the normalization and prevalence of organ trade, malnutrition, urban marginalization, desperate treasure hunting, increased renting, street vending, child labor, and child marriage. It is noteworthy that among these phenomena, four cases are directly (child marriage and labor) and indirectly (street vending and malnutrition) related to children. Organ Trade The buying and selling of organs has become a visible phenomenon in the streets and markets of Iran, to the extent that related notices can be seen in public spaces. Besides the long-standing open sale of kidneys, the sale of pieces of liver, bone marrow, corneas, and renting out wombs has become a means of earning money. Body parts in 2017 were traded from 50 to 500 million tomans depending on the conditions of the patient and the seller. Government institutions that aimed to control this market (by covering some costs and dignifying the exchange) have not been very successful. Thus, the wealthy, whose wealth is mostly acquired through rent-seeking and privileges, can purchase the body parts of the impoverished who are desperate. Urban Marginalization According to various statistics, there are between 11 to 21 million marginalized individuals in Iran. Some officials refer to this population as poorly housed and estimate their number at 19 million. (Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Tasnim, February 24, 2017) The city of Mashhad alone has about 2.1 million marginalized individuals. (IRNA, August 27, 2014) Ahvaz is the second city with the highest number of marginalized individuals in the country: "About 350,000 marginalized people live in various areas of this metropolis." (Mayor of Ahvaz, Government Radio and Television News Agency of Khuzestan, February 24, 2017) People in these areas lack basic urban and health services. Marginal urban areas are breeding grounds for various social harms. Treasure Hunting As individuals sink deeper into the well of poverty, they become more eager to suddenly become wealthy. Across the country, individuals are searching for treasure both individually and in groups. Metal detection equipment has fueled these efforts. These actions have led to claims about historical treasures in the country's historical regions. For example, at one point, news about the treasure of Cyrus in the Marvdasht region of Fars (the burial place of Cyrus and Persepolis) circulated widely on social media. Although from the outset, the Cultural Heritage Organization dismissed the possibility of this treasure's existence in the village of Farough, and even after about ten days, it was announced that those claiming the treasure were handed over to law enforcement after failing to prove their claims, some individuals continued to search for this treasure. The looting of cultural heritage by smugglers, many of whom are "insider" security and military forces, is another issue. Increase in Street Vending News about clashes between municipal officers and street vendors, and in some cases, violent behavior towards them or their suicides, has become daily news in the country. Street vendors are working in all public spaces and are constantly devising new methods to appear in areas where their presence is restricted (such as the subway). Street vending has become one of the serious challenges for municipalities in managing urban affairs. The tension between shopkeepers and street vendors is one of the consequences of this phenomenon. Child Marriage According to the statistics of Iran's Civil Registration Organization, in 2015, more than 37,000 girls under the age of 15 were married; over 90 percent of these marriages were pre-arranged, and 75 percent of the young brides dropped out of school after marriage. Child marriage mainly occurs in rural areas, and the primary reason is the poverty of parents, justified by religious rationalizations. The parents of these children, in despair of their daughters being able to support them one day and to reduce the number of "mouths to feed," effectively sell them to older men, but it is the village cleric who creates the mental groundwork for this heinous act, which leads to the sexual exploitation of children. Increase in Renting In recent years, the percentage of homeowners has decreased while the percentage of renters has increased. Today, about 7 million households (about one-third or 36 percent) in Iran are renters and must spend more than one-third of their income on rent. The percentage of renters in 2011 was about 26 percent. Renting households incur various costs for permanently changing their residence, from broken and damaged household items during relocation to real estate transaction costs, from moving expenses to the social cost of losing neighbors. Child Labor Of about 18 million children and adolescents of school age, only about 12 million attend school. The remaining 6 million mostly drop out after the sixth year to help support their families. The number of working children in Iran is estimated to be between 5.1 to 7 million, which, when compared to dropout statistics, the upper limit includes those who have dropped out plus about one million Afghan children and adolescents. All these working children do not have stable, full-time jobs. A significant portion of them are engaged in street vending and other work in the streets. Those who remain unemployed are naturally employed in risky and illegal activities, forming the next generation of delinquents. Malnutrition The nutrition of Iranians faces multiple and diverse problems. Protein consumption at the household level indicates that 70 percent of people in society consume less than the recommended amount, and only 30 percent of households consume above the recommended level of protein. (President of the Association of Livestock, Poultry, and Aquaculture Industries of Iran, Khabar Online, June 9, 2016) Of about 18 million children and adolescents of school age, only about 12 million attend school. The remaining 6 million mostly drop out after the sixth year to help support their families. The number of working children in Iran is estimated to be between 5.1 to 7 million. According to the Secretary-General of the Office for Community Nutrition Improvement of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, "88 percent of people in Iran consume less than the required amount of vegetables and fruits... In terms of dairy consumption, each individual should consume 250 grams of dairy daily, but the per capita dairy consumption among Iranians is less than this amount, around 190 grams per day. In terms of milk, the situation is worse, as each individual should consume 165 kilograms of milk annually, whereas currently, each Iranian consumes only 70 kilograms of milk per year, which is less than half the required amount." (IRNA, November 12, 2016) The approach to fast food or ready-made meals in Iran is not due to citizens' limited time for preparing food and long working hours but rather due to the low purchasing power of most citizens. Meat, raw vegetables, and dairy products are very expensive in Iran given the income levels, and two-thirds of the population do not have enough purchasing power to acquire them adequately. However, the issue of ready-made foods is general and does not only include the poor classes. In developed societies, affluent and educated classes are more sensitive to food, and nutrition generally holds a special place in university education and information dissemination. Awareness regarding food is generally absent from public culture in Iran. The levels of salt, sugar, and fat on ready-made foods or bread and pastries are not provided to the public through packaging labels. Information on imported food products is in foreign languages, and people cannot read them.