US State Department Report: Trafficking of Iranian Women to Dubai and Sulaymaniyah
The US State Department's annual report on human trafficking was published in 2016. According to the report, the number of Iranian women and girls being trafficked for forced sexual services to Dubai and Iraqi Kurdistan has increased.
The US State Department has released its annual report on human trafficking. The report divides countries into three groups: the first group are those that acknowledge the problem of human trafficking and are working to eliminate it. The second group are those that have recognized the problem but are not making any efforts to address it. The third group are those that have not recognized the problem at all and are not making any efforts to address it.
At the beginning of this report, in the Iran section, it states: "The Iranian government has failed to meet minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking and has not made effective efforts in this regard, therefore it is placed in Group Three."
It was further stated that despite the lack of effective efforts by the Iranian government to combat human trafficking, the government has taken steps to combat this issue, including establishing centers to assist victims of human trafficking.
In addition, the Iranian government has agreed to cooperate with some countries in the region to combat human trafficking, although during the previous reporting period, the Iranian government did not provide this organization with any information on its efforts to combat human trafficking.
Iran: Destination and Origin of Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor
According to reports received by international centers, Iran has been a transit center and a source and destination country for sex trafficking of men, women, and children, as well as forced labor, for the past five years.
Coherent and organized human trafficking groups send Iranian women, boys, and girls to Afghanistan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Europe for forced sexual services.
Some Iranian women who have gone to these countries to help their families financially are forced to provide sexual services and forced labor.
Iranian girls aged 13 to 17 are targeted by human trafficking gangs and taken outside Iran to be sold. Younger girls are forced to do domestic work until the trafficker determines they are old enough to provide sexual services.
In 2016, a report was made stating that the number of Iranian women being taken to Dubai for prostitution had increased significantly. Some of these women are victims of human trafficking. The city of Shiraz is the starting point for these women and girls, some of whom are taken from Azerbaijan to Shiraz and from there to Dubai.
From 2009 to 2015, the transfer of girls from within Iran to one of the Persian Gulf countries for the purpose of providing forced sexual services has also increased.
Some Iraqi Kurdistan government officials are customers of brothels with Iranian women
According to this report, Iranian girls are forced to work in brothels in Iraqi Kurdistan, especially in the city of Sulaymaniyah. Some of these girls are taken to Sulaymaniyah by Iranian trafficking gangs.
In 2015, local media in Iraqi Kurdistan reported that a number of members of the Kurdistan government were customers of these brothels.
In the cities of Tehran, Tabriz, and Astara, the number of teenage girls being used to provide sexual services has increased.
The report also considers temporary marriage, or concubine marriage, a form of prostitution, even though it is legal in Iran. The prevalence of these types of marriages, which last from an hour to a week, has also increased, according to the report.
Source: DW
