Rouhani: Some Think Our Problem with the World Was Only Nuclear

Hassan Rouhani stated that "some think our problem with the world was only a nuclear issue," and emphasized that "we must engage with the world on other matters as well." According to ISNA, the Iranian President on Thursday, August 6, during the second phase of his trip to cities in Tehran province, announced that after resolving the "nuclear issue," our work with the world is not over. He said, "Just as we engaged on the nuclear issue, we must also engage with the world on other matters." These remarks come as Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, in a meeting with a number of students, called for their readiness to continue the fight against "arrogance" after the nuclear negotiations. The Supreme Leader also emphasized in another speech that the negotiations and the subsequent comprehensive nuclear agreement would not change Iran's policy towards the U.S. "in any case." On the other hand, Rouhani, in another part of his speech regarding production and construction in Iran, stated: "The government cannot take on the country's production, and even if it could, it would not be a good producer; it is the people who must come to the scene." Some say "girls" do not need jobs. Rouhani, during his speech in Tehran province, also referred to the employment problems of youth in Iran. The Iranian President stressed the need to address the unemployment issue equally between girls and boys, stating that the notion that "jobs should only be created for boys" is invalid in his view. According to ISNA, Rouhani pointed out that "we did not go to the negotiating table just to open a space for interaction with the world," and said: "Our greatest goal from this groundbreaking agreement and negotiations is to create a suitable environment for production; our sorrow is the unemployment of the Iranian nation, and when we see educated young people who are unemployed and have problems, we feel sad." Rouhani stated that "as the elected President of the Iranian nation, I cannot accept that a university-educated young person remains unemployed after obtaining an engineering degree," adding: "Some say we should only create jobs for young boys because girls do not need jobs, but I say this statement is invalid; the children of this land are the children of Iran, and there are no distinctions between men, women, boys, and girls." The Iranian President continued his speech by asking, "Do you think that female engineers are scientifically less capable than male engineers?" He stated that "all girls and boys have been in the same queue, studied at the same university, and attended the same professor's class." Previously, regarding the issue of unemployment among women, Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare of Iran, stated that the unemployment rate for women has doubled. Rabiei announced on April 11 that "employers prefer to hire single women over married women, and women's work has shifted towards seasonal jobs and increased employment in the service sectors, indicating the necessity for appropriate planning and policymaking regarding women's status." On the other hand, the Statistical Center of Iran, on July 13, published a report stating that the unemployment rate in Iran in 2014 had increased by two-tenths of a percent compared to the previous year, reaching 10.6 percent. According to this report, with a recorded unemployment rate of 10.6 percent in 2014, more than two and a half million people from the active population aged 10 and older in Iran were unemployed during the past year. In the report by the Statistical Center of Iran, a worker is defined according to the International Labor Organization as someone who has worked for at least one hour in a week. According to this report, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 in Iran reached 25 percent in the spring of 2015, which experienced a slight decrease compared to the average of 2014.