Warning from a Parliament Member: Child Selling has Become a Business in Iran

A member of the Judicial and Legal Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly criticized the prevalence of 'child selling' in Iran, stating that this phenomenon has become a 'business' for some in the country and that laws need to be updated to eliminate the 'safe havens' for offenders. In an interview with the official news agency of the Parliament, House of the Nation, on Saturday, Bahman Taherkhani explicitly reported on the 'prevalence of the child selling problem' in current conditions in Iran. The representative of Takestan in the Parliament added, 'Some have considered child selling as a type of business for themselves, which must be addressed by implementing new and updated laws to eliminate this evil phenomenon.' He called for a 'thorough examination' of this phenomenon so that 'if there are deficiencies in the law protecting children and adolescents, support can be provided to address these social harms with the help of the Parliament and a review of this law.' According to Mr. Taherkhani, 'In many countries around the world, legal solutions have been considered to prevent the problem of child selling, and without a doubt, if the country's laws are comprehensive and prohibitive, it is possible to create an unsafe environment for those who engage in child selling through punitive and deterrent regulations.' He also called for attention to 'economic conditions and cultural issues' and added, 'A significant portion of these problems stems from individuals' financial weaknesses; in fact, due to poverty, issues such as child selling arise in society.' 'Baby selling' has become a relatively new social phenomenon in Iran, with some families handing over their newborns in exchange for millions of tomans. In July of this year, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, stated that the number of babies sold while still in the womb is 'high' and that 'poverty' is considered one of the most important factors contributing to the spread of this social phenomenon in Iran. She named 'economic poverty,' 'cultural poverty,' 'addiction,' 'homelessness,' and 'child marriage' as the main factors of 'baby selling' in Iran. Recently, Siavash Shahriyar, the Director General of Social Affairs of Tehran Province, called for the sterilization of homeless addicted women with their consent, stating that 'some of these women, in addition to addiction and homelessness and the spread of prostitution, produce children like a hatching machine, and since the children have no guardians, they end up being sold.' This issue, which arose after reports of sleeping in graves in the Nasirabad cemetery of Shahriar circulated on social media, sparked widespread negative reactions. In this regard, the prosecutor of Amol announced the discovery of a baby selling network in this city.