Government indifference to the growth of corruption and addiction in Iran

Sarah.Kh., CNN reporter: The age of addiction among students has decreased, and the number of female heads of households in our country has also been on the rise. In parallel with these problems, we are witnessing an increase in the unemployment rate, especially among women.

These alarming facts, taken together, are a wake-up call in the field of social health that is expected to wake up the responsible authorities. However, the indifference of the authorities has continued to a suspicious extent, to the point that a sociologist, speaking to FCNN, warns that perhaps some authorities are deliberately and consciously pursuing the growth of poverty, corruption, addiction, and homelessness in our country.

Let's take a look at some of the facts.

Lowering the age of addiction in schools

Hamidreza Pouryousef, a director of the Welfare Organization, told ISNA that the age of addiction among students has decreased and emphasized that divorce, addiction, and violence are three serious harms that require attention.

According to this official, the age of addiction in high schools has decreased to 15 to 18 years.

Teaching hijab and chastity to unaccompanied women

Shahindokht Molaverdi, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, recently announced that, based on the latest general population and housing census, the number of female heads of households in the country is growing.

The Mehr News Agency report quoted the official as saying that this trend increases the social harms suffered by women in society, and confronting it requires comprehensive and targeted planning in all areas. The focus of the programs introduced by this official includes supporting 550 proposed projects, of which 250 are currently being implemented with the aim of creating employment for women, educating and promoting the culture of hijab and chastity in the country.

Meanwhile, it is unclear how education on hijab and chastity can protect female heads of households from harm in times of unemployment and financial poverty.

Statistics indicate that the number of single women heads of households in the country has now reached more than 2 million.

While according to Anoushirvan Mohseni, the head of the Welfare Organization, this organization has put more than 120,000 families on a waiting list to provide services to such victims, it is not clear when they will receive support. He emphasized that most of these families are headed by women.

This is in a situation where, apart from the ad hoc support of the Relief Committee and the limited capacity of the Welfare Organization, no other institution is responsible for this task.

Meanwhile, the financial inability of female heads of households exposes them to various types of harm and makes their children vulnerable.

Authorities are not taking the threats seriously.

In an interview with FCNN, sociologist Soheila Ghasemi emphasized that in the last four decades, none of the governments in the Islamic Republic have had a specific and effective plan to combat social harms.

He also noted the lack of attention to reviewing feedback from incomplete programs in this area and said: "Unfortunately, the majority of the support capacity in the country has been spent on expanding the organization and the institutions in charge, and this issue is given more attention than supporting the affected people."

In Qasemi's view, such a trend reflects the fact that Iranian authorities still do not believe that the prevalence of addiction at young ages or the growth in the number of female heads of households pose a serious threat to social health and even security in the country.

This sociologist considers the lack of access to up-to-date statistics by researchers to be the result of another weakness in Iran, and believes that this weakness is the most appropriate way to cover up the negligence and inaction of managers.

Authorities' deliberate neglect of the prevalence of addiction and corruption

According to Ghasemi, this method of occasionally issuing a warning or informally stating statistics is only intended to throw the ball in someone else's court. Because there is no follow-up and no manager considers himself accountable for threatening statistics.

He emphasizes that the current situation indicates a kind of neglect in the area of ​​social harms.

Continuing this conversation, Ghasemi predicts that the continuation of this situation will lead to the growth of corruption and depravity in all strata of society, especially among the teenage and young age groups of Iran.

The irreparable nature of ignoring these consequences is, in Qasemi's view, to a certain extent unacceptable, as he emphasizes: In some cases, such as the lowering of the age of addiction among students, the response of the authorities is suspected, and it is felt that their indifference goes beyond managerial weakness and that they are knowingly fueling corruption.

The decline in marriage rates, the increase in divorce rates, and the prevalence of AIDS with a tendency towards sexual intercourse, along with the increase in the number of addicted women and delinquent children, according to Ghasemi, are serious signs of a social crisis in Iran that cannot simply be ignored. However, this indifference on the part of Iranian authorities has been remarkable in recent decades.

According to this sociologist, the lack of a specific, codified plan in development programs in different periods is the obvious reason for this indifference.

These undeniable facts reveal a part of the prevailing conditions in Iranian society. Therefore, to prevent the escalation of these harms, it is expected that the Leader, as the first person in the country, will go beyond the recommendation and issue a ruling to identify the factors influencing the growth of harms. In this way, those who intentionally, perhaps to earn a lot of money, are identified and punished.

Of course, we cannot ignore the fact that the future is not bright and the performance of our country's authorities in recent decades does not provide much hope for the realization of these demands.

In a way, every year we say that we regret last year and the unfortunate growth of injuries has caused despair in controlling the situation. In other words, it is feared that the growth of corruption and addiction in Iran will continue to rise at an incredible speed and we will reach a point that is in no way proportional to the identity and capabilities of Iran and Iranians.