Women with Salaries of 150,000 Tomans

The newspaper Shahrvand reported in an article titled "Women with Salaries of 150,000 Tomans" about "the work of educated women earning less than the labor law without insurance and contracts" and wrote: "These days, educated girls and women working in private kindergartens, doctors' offices, engineering offices, and various market sectors are more visible than ever; cheap laborers whose desire for independence, forced poverty, unemployment, etc., have compelled them to accept jobs with low wages, without contracts and insurance, and different conditions." The newspaper, while publishing interviews with working women who are uninsured and earning between 150,000 to 300,000 tomans, which is much lower than the minimum wage of nearly 930,000 tomans set for 2017, noted that "the issue of salaries significantly lower than the rate determined by the Supreme Labor Council is not limited to one city or one specific province, although it is more prevalent in deprived provinces." Hessam Nikpour, the research deputy of the Institute for Social Security Research, announced that "previously, 80% of uninsured workers were women," and told Shahrvand: "Currently, there are about 10 million workers in the country who must voluntarily insure themselves, and there is no obligation. The number of insured individuals in Iran is about 15 million, and considering the population of 21.5 million workers in Iran, about 6.5 million workers are uninsured. These 6.5 million are those who are not wage earners, and at least 80% of them are women." The newspaper Vaghaye Ettefaghieh, on its front page titled "Praise of Division," published "reactions to insulting poetry about the President during Eid al-Fitr ceremonies," stating: "The eulogist at this ceremony recited verses criticizing the government's policies and the JCPOA, containing insulting remarks about the President. This was said just three days after insults were directed at the elected President on Quds Day." The newspaper emphasized that "this is no longer a matter of self-will; it is a eulogy for division." Vaghaye Ettefaghieh identified the eulogist who recited the text against Hassan Rouhani as Meysam Motiei, noting that "Meysam Motiei was a regular feature in Ibrahim Raisi's campaign" and that "last year's Quds Day also featured a harsh and insulting text against Zarif and Rouhani, accusing negotiators of treason." The newspaper Etemad, on its front page, described the events that occurred during the Eid al-Fitr prayer as part of a "chain of insults" against Hassan Rouhani, stating: "In the latest of these events on Tuesday, during the Eid al-Fitr prayer, we witnessed an insult from a eulogist against the elected President." Abbas Abdi, in the editorial of this newspaper titled "Political Critique as a Victim of Political Satire," wrote: "The satirical poetry recited in the Eid al-Fitr prayer criticizing the government and the President, while Mr. Rouhani was sitting in the front row of the prayer, generated widespread reactions." The columnist pointed out the lack of public attendance at Friday prayers compared to previous years, stating: "One political faction, due to its weaknesses, has turned all public and cross-factional platforms into factional platforms. As a result, everyone, including their supporters, has become disinterested in such participation," just as "this incorrect behavior in politics is exactly like the behavior in the economy, where resources are extracted and consumed excessively without giving anything back to the land." The columnist, referring to a eulogist's declaration of "opposition to the JCPOA" during the Eid al-Fitr prayer, wrote: "The JCPOA was the biggest political decision since the revolution; how can its entirety be attributed to individuals and agents of the system when it has been and remains the greatest political achievement of the country? Furthermore, if there was no JCPOA, it is uncertain whether this eulogist would have had the opportunity to eulogize or if his microphone would even have power to allow him to do so." Amir Abbas Nakhai, a journalist, in the editorial of the newspaper Hamahanghi, regarding "the eulogy against the President and the place of freedom of expression," wrote: "The objection of reformists and Rouhani's supporters is not to the principle of criticism of the President and the poetry recited in criticism of him, but they defend one of the principles for which they support Rouhani and his presidency, namely the preservation of freedom of expression and the right of a citizen to criticize the President." However, "the reformists' criticism is directed at why official platforms and ceremonies funded by the public budget are used as a means for this criticism." The columnist emphasized that "everyone has the right to criticize the President, but the issue in state media, Friday prayers, public demonstrations such as Quds Day and Eid al-Fitr prayers is different" because "no one opposes the criticism of the President and the government; rather, people oppose one-sided criticism of the President from public platforms that are never made available to the President's supporters." Sadegh Zibakalam, in an interview with the newspaper Arman, emphasized that "so far, the principlists have been unable to accept the results of the May 29 elections, and this issue has been very costly and incomprehensible for them" because "they did not think Rouhani would receive 24 million votes" and "throughout the election period, all three principlist candidates and the entire principlist faction, especially the hardline and radical currents, used everything they had against Rouhani. They utilized all platforms for this purpose." This political analyst in Iran stated: "In response to the increase in verbal and media attacks, the best strategy for the government is to remain silent. It is as if this issue has not occurred. This radical current opposing the government is very eager for the government to react strongly to this current. The opponents are trying to provoke the government into a phase of severe reaction for two main reasons." The newspaper quoted Sadegh Zibakalam as saying: "The principlists have lost ground against the reformists and have nothing new to offer to Iranian society. They want to recreate and rebuild their values through this and create tension, while in a non-tensed and non-bipolar atmosphere, the values of principlism are not attractive to ordinary people and new generations." Furthermore, "they will try to draw Rouhani into a game of action and reaction." Zahra Ahmadipour, Hassan Rouhani's deputy, also wrote in a note for the newspaper Iran, titled "The Auction of Social Capital in Public Platforms," stating: "The channeling of public platforms, even if done with good intentions, leads to public distrust in the effectiveness of official political mechanisms." The columnist of the newspaper Iran, which is close to the government, posed the question: "When public platforms are completely one-sided and unbalanced in favor of a political faction that at least currently has not been able to attract the majority of the people's votes, what consequences can this have?" He wrote: "The first consequences of such a situation can lead to a loss of public trust in the distribution of power based on the relative votes of the people in that political system." The newspaper Shargh also reported on its front page titled "The Insulters of Rouhani Identified," quoting Mohsen Nasj Hamdani, the security deputy of the Tehran governorate, stating: "Based on initial actions taken by the security deputy of the Ministry of Interior, the security deputy of Tehran province, and the police, the individuals insulting the President have been generally identified, and initial investigations in this regard have begun." According to this newspaper, Mohsen Nasj Hamdani stated: "After the completion of the work of the truth-finding and documentation committees regarding this matter and the complete identification of individuals, the files of these individuals will be sent to the judiciary if deemed appropriate." He added: "Of course, there is also the possibility that after the investigation and identification of the offenders, there may be no need to refer their files to the judiciary, and the responsible agencies will make decisions in this regard." The newspapers Javan and Kayhan welcomed the reaction of the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Hassan Rouhani's remarks about "the government with a gun." The newspaper Javan, on its front page, quoted Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying: "A government without a gun will be humiliated and surrendered by the enemy." According to this newspaper, the IRGC commander stated: "They introduce us as the owners of guns; we are not only the owners of guns but also the owners of enemy-breaking missiles, which we use against enemies and to protect the system, the people, and the security of Islamic Iran, and we believe that a government without a gun will be humiliated and ultimately surrender." Hassan Rouhani had stated that "the announcement of the economic policies of Article 44 for transferring the economy to the people was made; however, part of the economy that was without the government's gun was handed over to a government with a gun," and the newspaper Javan described these statements of the Islamic Republic's President as among the "most dishonorable expressions" made about the IRGC. This newspaper close to the IRGC characterized Mohammad Ali Jafari's reaction as "a very minimal reaction" to Hassan Rouhani's remarks, stating that the commander "showed limited reaction to the high volume of attacks that have unjustly targeted the IRGC these days." Kayhan also reported on its front page, quoting the IRGC commander as saying: "They speak against the IRGC and take selfies with the IRGC's projects." According to this newspaper, he stated: "It is not acceptable that the gentlemen assign the hard tasks to the IRGC with minimal benefits and take pride in the projects that the IRGC builds, but at the same time, while being indebted for thousands of billions of tomans for the projects, they speak against the IRGC unfairly." Kayhan also published a note titled "The Issue is Not the IRGC," stating: "Following the actions of the U.S. Senate, currently 265 members out of approximately 736 members of the European Parliament have called for the IRGC to be placed on the blacklist," adding that "when in the country, without any reason or necessity, a senior government official insults the IRGC and provokes a reaction from the IRGC, the West believes that a way has been created to create a confrontation between the political and current affairs and the security and strategic affairs, and they should take advantage of it."