Human Trafficking in [Iran] [other countries]
Street Children in [Iran] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Iran] [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Islamic Republic of Iran [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Islamic Republic of Iran [map], located in SW Asia, is bordered by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea (N); by Afghanistan and Pakistan (E); by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman (S); and by Turkey and Iraq (W). The Shatt al Arab forms part of the Iran-Iraq border. Its capital and largest city is Tehran. Iran has one of the highest rates of drug usage in the region. In addition to its social and economic consequences, drug use is emerging as a major contributor to HIV infection and AIDS. Relatively high oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass some $30 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but have not eased economic hardships such as high unemployment and inflation. The proportion of the economy devoted to the development of weapons of mass destruction remains a contentious issue with leading Western nations.

Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for women trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude.

Iranian women are trafficked internally for the purpose of forced prostitution and forced marriages to settle debts. Children are trafficked internally and from Afghanistan for the purpose of forced marriages, commercial sexual exploitation, and involuntary servitude as beggars or laborers. According to non-governmental sources, Iranian women and girls are also trafficked to Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom for commercial sexual exploitation. Media sources reported that 54 Iranian females between the ages of 16 and 25 are sold into commercial sexual exploitation in Pakistan every day. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2007 [full country report]

CAUTION: The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Iran. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – According to foreign observers, women and girls are trafficked to Pakistan, Turkey, and Europe for sexual exploitation. Boys from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan were trafficked through the country to the Gulf states. Afghan women and girls were trafficked to the country for sexual exploitation and forced marriages. Internal trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor also occurs. It was difficult to measure the extent of the government's efforts to curb human trafficking. It appears that the government did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but it has made significant efforts to do so. In 2004 the government conducted a study on trafficking of women, passed a law against human trafficking, and signed separate Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Afghanistan, Turkey, IOM, and the International Labor Organization (ILO). According to Pakistani press reports in December, Iran, Pakistan, Greece, and Turkey formed a joint working group to fight human trafficking. On September 22, domestic media reported that the Tehran police chief stated eight human trafficking networks smuggling mostly Bangladeshis, Afghans, and Pakistanis had been broken up and members arrested. During 2004 border police arrested more than 250 Pakistanis smuggled into the country, some of whom likely were trafficking victims.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2005

[70] The Committee is concerned about reports of trafficking and sale of persons under 18 years of age, particularly young girls from rural areas, facilitated by "temporary marriages" or "siqeh" - marriages which last from 1 hour to 99 years. It is also concerned at reports of the trafficking of such persons from Afghanistan to Iran, who are apparently sold or sent by their families in Afghanistan for exploitation, including cheap labor.

Clerical courts set free women traffickers

The state-run daily Iran reported that a man involved in human trafficking of young Iranian girls, each sold in Arab countries for over 50 million rials (US$4,600), received a prison term of three to five months. An appeals court, however, overturned the ruling and released the smuggler and ordered him to pay a fine of just US$275.

Most runaway girls in Iran raped within first 24 hours

In April, a number of government officials and security officers were arrested during raids on at least five houses used as brothels in and around the town of Neka, northern Iran. Many runaway girls, some as young as 13, were being forced into prostitution by organized child prostitution rings. A number of officers from Iran’s notorious State Security Forces (SSF), commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and heads of a number of local government departments and institutions were among those rounded up in the raids.

The Plight of Iranian Women and Children Under Islamic Rule

THE IDEOLOGY AND STATE OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM - The clerics’ version of sharia law imposes a crushing system of gender apartheid on Iranians based on the premise that women are physically, psychologically, intellectually, and morally inferior to men.  The clerics made laws on how to control, punish, torture, and kill women and girls. Misogyny and violence against women were institutionalized.

Political Executions, Child Prostitution, and Forced Marriage at the Age of 9

Child prostitution has risen 635 percent in recent years. Dozens of Iranian girls are brought to Karachi, Pakistan, to be sold as sex slaves every day. Reports in Tehran newspapers indicate that senior government figures have been involved in human trafficking. There are at least 300,000 runaway girls in Iran.

Save the Women, Save Ourselves

According to Dr. Azam, she had a skull fracture, two broken fingers, missing fingernails, a crushed big toe, a smashed nose, deep scratches on her neck, and evidence of flogging on her legs and back. "I could see this was caused by torture," Azam told Canadian journalists. He added that the nurse who examined Kazemi's genitals told him of "brutal damage." He believes she was tortured and raped. If he is correct, we can add Zara Kazemi to a long list of women who have been brutalized.

Child Prostitution Ring Run By Revolutionary Guards Officers Uncovered In Iran

A number of government officials and security officers were arrested during raids on at least five houses used as brothels in and around the town of Neka (northern Iran). The raids, conducted during the past two weeks, uncovered several organized child prostitution rings running the brothels. Many runaway girls, some as young as 13, were being forced into prostitution by these gangs.

Girls In Iran Being Sold In Pakistan On Daily Basis

At least 54 Iranian girls and young women, between the ages of 16 and 25, are sold on the streets of Karachi in Pakistan on a daily basis, according to report outlining the latest statistics. The report also revealed that there are at present at least 300,000 runaway girls in Iran, adding that the estimated number of women under the absolute poverty line was more than eight million.

Woman Facing Death For Prostitution ‘Not Mentally Disabled

Amnesty had said the woman’s mother forced her into prostitution when she was eight. It said the girl was raped repeatedly and gave birth to a baby when she was nine.

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 6 Civil Liberties: 6 Status: Not Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study

ARCHIVES

2004 Slavery of Children and women in Persian gulf countries

2004 Iranian regime displays a different kind of brutality towards women

2004 SEX SLAVE JIHAD - Fundamentalists buy and sell women for prostitution [PDF]

2004 Traffickers entrap young run-away girls and widows with deceiving promises of a better life

2004 Sadistic rules & punishments on women, enslaving them in a gender apartheid system

2004 "Leyla M", forced into prostitution as a child, facing execution for morality-related offences

2004 A group of Iranian boys and girls will be sold in an auction today in Fojeyreh, UAE

2002 The injustices of human trafficking and forced prostitution in Iran

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Human Trafficking in [Iran] [other countries]
Street Children in [Iran] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Iran] [other countries]