Mullahs Create the Dire Conditions Faced by Iranian Children

By
Staff Writer
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The Bill to Protect Children and Adolescents was hurriedly passed by the regime Judiciary on 7 June 2020, following public outcry in Iran and internationally over the honor killing of Romina Ashrafi.

As a woman and a child, girl children are least protected and are denied opportunities because of the regime’s misogynist beliefs.

Many young women suffering abuse by the regime just because they are women is leading to an increase in suicide. One such case is that of a 15-year-old girl in Ramhormoz who took her own life on November 12, 2020. Five high school students in the same town have taken their own lives since mid-September.

Children’s lives in Iran are hampered by some and all of the following:

  • poverty,
  • hunger,
  • death,
  • child labor,
  • child abuse,
  • trafficking and sale of children and infants,
  • sanctioning early marriages,
  • approving honor killings.

The clerical regime is apparently a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but it shows no care for children whatsoever, particularly girl children.

The People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), is opposed to the regime’s oppression of women, including child marriage.

CRC Article 6 and the violating of children’s right to life in Iran

Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child reveals that every child has the inherent right to life and also to the maximum extent possible to ensure the survival and development of the child.

The Coroner’s Office statistics in Iran reveal that 7 percent of all suicides in 2017 were committed by children below 18 years and this number is expected to grow following the outbreak of Covid-19.

In October 2020, an 11-year-old boy committed suicide because he did not have a sufficient cell phone to take part in online classes.

Many children have been the victims of Covid-19 due to the early reopening of classes, so many provinces have reported that hundreds of teachers and students have been affected and many have died. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), and the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has revealed that despite the underreporting of the regime’s figures on the deaths from Covid-19 the true figure is more than 165,200.

Much of the suffering from Covid-19 is due to rampant poverty in Iran so all ages are affected.

Each year, many girls and boys die on the road to school, under a collapsing wall or ceiling, or in a fire. Unsafe heating systems have also poisoned many students.

In the poor Sistan and Baluchistan Province, where there is little or no piped water, dozens of children lose their lives every year to drowning while attempting to drink water from hootags. Many more lose their arms and hands when trying to get water because of crocodile attacks.

CRC Article 4, laws sanction violation of children’s rights in Iran

The CRC states that State Parties shall install appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures to ensure the implementation of rights recognized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

But the Iranian legislation and Constitution are the main sources of the violation of the rights of Iranian children such as:

Setting aged 9 as the legal age for criminal accountability for girl children in Iran and a mandatory dress code which forces them to cover their hair since 6 years old and on the first day of school.

The legal marriage age for girls is 13 years. The Legal and Judicial Committee of the mullahs’ parliament would not support anything different as it contradicts “the teachings of Islam.”

The Bill to Protect the Rights of Children which was quickly adopted in June 2020, after 11 years of sitting on the fence by the Judiciary and the Parliament, still does not protect the rights of girl children in Iran.

The Children’s Rights Bill also fails to include provisions for financial assistance to low-income families so that their children’s living conditions can be improved.

Article 9 of the Bill to Protect Children and Adolescents states that a parent who murders his/her child may be subject to 2 years in prison. This was the final ruling of the court when trying the father of Romina Ashrafi, who beheaded his 13-year-old daughter with a sickle while she slept.

Article 1179 of the regime’s Civil Code allows parents to physically abuse their children. CRC Article 24 fails to ensure access to health care and nutrition by children

Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child are told to make sure that no children are deprived of the right to access health care services, and to take suitable measures to stop disease and malnutrition by providing sufficient nutritious food and clean drinking-water. The fact is that Iranian children are denied clean potable water and adequate nutrition and even hygienic conditions in schools. It is so bad that the clerical regime’s Health Minister recently confirmed that there were 1,000 schools in West Azerbaijan Province which did not have toilets.

Malnutrition is a problem for Iranian children and in particular for young girls

The Ministry of Health on its website admits that in Iran, there are 50,000 children under the age of 5 years who are classified as malnourished.  Of Iran’s population of 83 million, about 60 million live below the poverty line.

CRC Article 28, violation of Iranian children’s right to education

States Parties are told by the CRC to recognize the child’s right to education based on equal opportunity. Primary education should be compulsory and free to all. Many children in Iran attend sub-standard schools that lack the minimum equipment and sanitation and they are even asked by the regime to pay money to go to school. Overall, children in Iran are innocent victims of the clerical regime. They rank as the poorest, the hungriest, and the most oppressed sector in Iranian society. They are denied rights and their conditions have not improved over the past 4 decades.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI): Iranian children are the hungriest, the most innocent, and the most oppressed sector of Iranian society. Their conditions are tantamount to organized crime by the mullahs’ religious dictatorship.

MEK Iran (follow them on Twitter and Facebook)

and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTube

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