Homelessness of Women Affected by Addiction; “Khane Khorshid” Closed
Leila Arshed, one of the founders of “Khane Khorshid,” the first center providing shelter to addicted and homeless women in Tehran’s “Darwazeh Qar” neighborhood, announced the closure of this non-governmental organization in the new year. The center was serving 2,500 affected women.
Leila Arshed, a social worker and founder of the Women of the Land of the Sun Institute, known as “Khane Khorshid,” announced on Monday, March 1st, in an interview with Hamshahri newspaper, the closure of this center in the new year. Referring to pressures to halt the activities of NGOs, she said: “Our limitations are increasing every day. Decision-making in the field of social harms has become very different. As is evident from officials’ statements, they want to entrust social work to more formal institutions, meaning that NGOs like us will no longer function as before.”
Khane Khorshid was launched in December 2006 with the aim of helping “homeless women and those harmed by addiction” by Leila Arshed and Sarvar Manshizadeh in Tehran’s Darwazeh Qar neighborhood. Until 2014, the house daily served 100 women and 25 affected children, but in the winter of 2014, it focused on improving the lives of women who had quit addiction and had children, by providing social and occupational skills.
As Leila Arshed stated in her interview with Hamshahri, over the past 17 years, 2,500 people have been served by this institution, of whom 600 have recovered. However, with the announcement of the closure of this house, these individuals will be even more “homeless” than before.
One of the initiatives that, according to Arshed, was among the special services of Khane Khorshid was the launch of a “dental clinic” a few years ago. Now with the closure of Khane Khorshid, this center will also close; “because officials have not assured us that this center will be managed by another civil organization.” This experienced social worker who has worked with affected women in Darwazeh Qar since the 1970s says: “Providing dental services was one of our dreams from the beginning; because poor appearance and dental problems and toothaches were one of the barriers preventing these women from entering society, which could lead to stigma and their return to substance abuse. This long-standing dream of ours was realized in 2016, and about 15 volunteer dentists provided valuable services to women recovered from addiction and those with HIV and their children. The closure of this dental clinic leaves women facing difficulties in obtaining dental services.”
In the latest Instagram post of Khane Khorshid published on Wednesday, March 24th, Sarvar Manshizadeh, another founder of this center, while announcing the closure of this institution, wrote: “In these years, what we saw, heard, and experienced cannot be put into words.”
The news of the closure of this civil organization met with widespread reactions from social media users. Ehsan Badaghi, a journalist, wrote on Twitter: “The harm reduction center for women Shush is also on the verge of closure. The reason is simple; it has been decided that one headquarters will replace NGOs and civil organizations.”
Reza Shafakhah, a lawyer and member of Imam Ali Society, also in response to the news of Khane Khorshid’s closure, tweeted: “Yesterday Imam Ali Society and today Khane Khorshid, tomorrow which institution’s turn is it?”
It appears that the Islamic Republic’s determination to “halt the activities of civil organizations” is serious. Previously, in March 2021, the “Imam Ali Society,” one of the most recognized civil organizations with over ten thousand volunteers and, according to the organization’s official website, serving 6,137 children across Iran, was dissolved following a complaint from the Ministry of Interior and a court ruling.
Charmin Mimandinejad, founder of Imam Ali Society, in early June 2020, along with two other members of the organization, was arrested by the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organization for “insulting the leader and founder of the Islamic Republic” and “actions against national security” and was released after four months upon paying a “two billion toman bond.”
Zahra Rahimi, CEO of Imam Ali Society, also tweeted her regret at the closure of the last refuge of the afflicted in a world full of current tensions.
Recently, a video was published on social media showing staff of the “Kerman Endowments Office” going to the “Kerman Sunshine Children” school and removing students from class, and while students cry, they evacuate the school. This school was a place of education for working and street children.
Apparently, the authorities of the Islamic Republic and security institutions, by increasing pressure on charitable associations and civil organizations, have sought to narrow the space for activities of “non-governmental entities” and make continuation of work “difficult and impossible.”
Source: DW
