Iran’s Failure to Combat Prostitution

February 27, 2018

7 min read

A new study reveals that the Islamic Republic’s policies to deal with prostitution have failed and that officials lack a humane approach and attitude toward sex workers. In fact, the report has found, the continued promotion of “temporary marriages” in the country — a practice in Shia Islam that makes sexual activity out of permanent marriage permissible — is tantamount to legalizing prostitution.

The study, entitled “Factors Contributing to Prostitution in Iran and Resulting Crimes” [Persian PDF] is published in the latest issue of the quarterly Journal of Legal Studies. Mohammad Ali Haji Mehrabadi, a member of the faculty of Qom University, and Susan Yavari, a graduate student of criminology and criminal law at the same university, co-authored the report.

In Shia Islam, a man and woman are able to marry for a fixed period of time, known as a sigheh, or temporary marriage, in order to deal specifically with sexual needs. Iran’s Islamic government has promoted the practice to reduce illicit sex in the country, and some officials have suggested it can help in situations where young people cannot afford to marry because of financial constraints. Although some argue the practice honors the sexual rights of both women and men, many experts and rights advocates claim that in reality, it only benefits males in society. The authors of the new report are among those to argue that temporary marriage is a form of prostitution sanctioned by Islamic laws.

According to a survey published in 2009 [Persian link], Qom Province has the highest number of temporary marriages in Iran. The holy city of Qom, near Tehran, is home to thousands of seminary students and temporary marriages are very common among these young students.

Qom’s seminary students are the future interpreters of Sharia, which forms the basis of the laws of the Islamic Republic. Many of these students tend to satisfy their “needs” through a temporary marriage, which is legal under Shia Islam.

One section of the recent report offers a critique of the policy of promoting “temporary marriage” in Iran. “Promoting temporary marriage is definitely not going to help the society to be healthier,” it says, and argues that prostitution sanctioned in law through the practice of temporary marriage still means sex is performed in exchange for material goods or money.

“If we live this door [temporary marriage] open, it means that we have officially recognized [prostitution] in a new form,” the report says.

Not a “Humane” Approach

But under the laws of the Islamic Republic, sex workers can be punished by being given 100 lashes, or, if the sex worker is married, she can be stoned to death. The new report describes this punishment as “inhuman” and a form of violence that contradicts the values of human rights. Furthermore, in its presentation of evidence and statistics, it concludes that flogging and the stoning to death of sex workers have been “ineffective” strategies for solving the problem. Instead, these tactics evade the question, at best.

The report singles out Iran’s judiciary and security agencies as being particularly reprehensible when it comes to dealing with prostitution and sex workers. It cites the humiliating terms these authorities use when discussing the issue, and argues that such an approach “can make controlling this problem more complicated.” In its criticism, the report urges authorities to view this ongoing social problem in a more “appropriate” and “humane” way.

It goes on to cite poverty, an increase in the number of divorces, girls being married at earlier ages, and an increase in the number of widowed women as contributing to prostitution. The lure of income from prostitution and the “potential demand in the society” are major factors in the rise in the number of sex workers in Iran — factors that sociologists have recognized and highlighted when looking at the issue. But the authors of the report also refer to studies by psychologists to argue that even though social factors play a deciding role in prostitution, they are not the only factors in play. The report says problems individuals face, including weakness of moral character, identity crises, and an increasing demand for variety in everyday life also contribute to the growth of the sex trade.

Six Million Widower Women

The latest statistics show that six million Iranian women are widows, many of whom are forced to cope with severe problems, both financially and socially. Some of them say that after becoming widows, people view them differently, and that in some cases they received “shameless” offers from their colleagues or their neighbors. And among divorcées, 45 percent complain that their ex-husbands interfere in their lives and cause them trouble. They say they feel they have been stripped of their individual and social rights.

Of the women who are a household’s sole caretaker, 55 percent say that they are troubled by taunts from their neighbors, and statistics say that approximately 66 percent of them are harassed and or even harmed. The report also cites that many divorced women have chosen divorce to regain their lost freedoms, but 40 percent of these women complain that their families interfere in their affairs, intrude in their lives, and impinge on their freedoms.

In some cases, these intrusions and social constraints can push divorced women toward prostitution. However, poverty plays a much bigger role, with experts citing it as the most important contributing factor in divorcées turning to prostitution.

Selling Children to the Sex Market

A survey of families living in poverty shows that in many cases, families feel they have no option but to sell their children, especially their daughters, to sex traffickers. According to the report, the age of sex workers in Iran has fallen as low as 10 years old, and the young girls who have recently entered the trade form the majority of the country’s sex workers. Based on a survey cited by the report, of 6,053 women in Iran who are in jail for prostitution, the majority are aged from 12 to 25.

During the summer, when traveling and moving around the country is easier, the number of active sex workers increases, and some sex workers travel to big cities to find customers. The number of sex workers is at its lowest around February when the cold weather makes it difficult for women to travel, or to walk the streets in a bid to attract customers.

Houses of prostitution can be found in big cities such as Tehran. Occasionally, authorities identify them and shut them down. However, there are no statistics available on the number of brothels in Iranian cities — but the recent report estimates that the numbers are quite high.

According to the latest study, 50 percent of sex workers say they would stop working in the profession if they were able to find other, “respectable” jobs. In addition, a survey of 100 sex workers currently jailed at Evin Prison shows that around 60 percent of them are housewives.

The report also reveals a rather new and growing phenomenon in the Iranian sex market: Sex workers who look for customers by car.

"Factors Contributing to Prostitution in Iran and Resulting Crimes” paints a picture of Iranian society that is far different from the image authorities like to portray — that of a society rooted in traditions and religion, and which lives by them. Changing mores and increasing awareness of individual rights is driving Iranian society in a direction that the religious rulers of the country vehemently oppose. Iran, like so many places in the world, is witnessing a substantial shift in its society. But it can be argued that the cost to Iranian society is higher than in other countries because its leaders insist on denying reality and imposing solutions that do nothing to solve problems as they currently exist. And, should Iranian authorities be tempted to say these pronouncements are the work of a western entity, it is worth pointing out that the report by Mohammad Ali Haji Mehrabadi and Susan Yavari originates from a holy city, and the seat of Shia jurisprudence in Iran.