Tehran's Social Affairs Director: Homeless Addicted Women Should Be Sterilized with Their Consent

The Director General of Social Affairs of Tehran Province emphasized that 20% of homeless addicted women have AIDS and spread various diseases through prostitution, calling for these women to be sterilized with their consent to prevent many social harms. Siavash Shahriyar, in an interview with ILNA published on Sunday, January 1, stated that according to the country's laws, no one is allowed to sterilize individuals without their consent. He noted that homeless addicted women distribute and consume drugs, engage in sex work, and over 20% of them have AIDS and spread various diseases. Shahriyar added that some of these women, in addition to addiction and homelessness, produce children like incubators, and since the children have no guardians, they end up being sold. He mentioned that there is a project, reality, and theory that many NGOs and social elites agree with, suggesting that if a woman is sick, is a sex worker, and has no place to stay, she should be sterilized with her consent, rather than forcibly. He stressed that if a woman cannot take care of her child due to problems and is forced to sell it, it is better for her to be sterilized with her consent, as it would prevent witnessing a sick child suffering from malnutrition and lacking guardians. The topic of sterilizing homeless addicts has gained attention in recent days following reports of 'grave sleeping' in the Nasirabad cemetery in Shahriar, which has sparked widespread negative reactions. Some social media users described the proposal as 'shameless' and 'fascist,' reminding that systematic and forced sterilization is defined as a 'crime against humanity' by the Hague Court (Rome Statute). Some websites and newspapers have attributed the emergence of this proposal to a previous interview with Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs. However, Molaverdi denied this accusation on her Facebook, stating that in November 2015, in response to a journalist's question about 'sterilizing homeless addicted women with AIDS,' she said that 'the government has not yet provided a specific program for this issue and that if such a program is to be implemented, it must certainly be reviewed and presented by the Ministry of Health, but discussions are ongoing.' She announced that this discussion arose after concerns were expressed by several city council members about the sale of children by homeless addicted women. Fatemeh Daneshvar, head of the Social Committee of the Tehran City Council, had previously stated that some 'homeless and sex worker' women sell their newborns for prices ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 tomans. A report published in the January 1 issue of the Shahrvand newspaper about the lives of around 50 women, men, and children living in graves in the Nasirabad cemetery has received widespread attention and has raised the issue of the lives of those known as homeless. Asghar Farhadi, a film director, also expressed his shame in a letter to the President, emphasizing that all those who have held responsibilities in Iran over the past thirty years should share in this 'shame.' Hassan Rouhani also described the issue as 'very painful' in response to Farhadi's critical letter. On the same day, however, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, stated that 'grave sleeping is related to addicts who seek refuge in cemeteries to avoid arrest or confrontation.' The term 'openly visible' is used to describe those addicts who consume drugs 'openly and shamelessly in public places.'