Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jul 2000
Source: South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
Copyright: 2000 South China Morning Post Publishers Limited.
Contact:  http://www.scmp.com/
Author: Associated Press

OFFICIAL ADMITS REALITY OF DRUGS AND PROSTITUTES

In a report that exposes Iran's hidden social vices for the first time, an
official has acknowledged that prostitution and drug abuse are now widespread
among the predominantly young population.

"Five tonnes of narcotics are consumed in Teheran every day. Official
reports suggest that there are at least two million addicts. Some
100,000 addicts are in prison. Addiction to narcotics has even reached
school classes," Mohammad Ali Zam, a Teheran municipality official in
charge of cultural affairs, said in the report published yesterday.

Hassan Bolkhari, a university professor and cultural adviser at the
Education Ministry, said that speaking openly about such problems
represented a big step towards combatting them.

"So far, the establishment's approach has been idealistic," he said.
"Fortunately, now we see there more realism. This report is just a
true reflection of bitter realities in our society.

Shattering a taboo by admitting that prostitution exists, the report
said the average age of prostitutes had dropped to 20 from 27 a few
years ago. It did not estimate the number of women engaged in
prostitution.

Mr Zam, who read his report to city council officials on Monday, said
90 per cent of young women who ran away from home fell into
prostitution, and warned that violence and theft among teenagers was
on the rise.

For years, the hard-line clergy that has ruled Iran since the 1979
revolution has painted a rosy picture of Iranian society, never
admitting to vices such as prostitution, which officially is
punishable by death. But prostitutes are becoming more and more
visible on the streets due to economic hardships and new social
freedoms granted since the 1997 election of the moderate President
Mohammad Khatami. The Teheran municipal Government is dominated by Mr
Khatami's pro-reform allies.

Economic hardship is now the main problem confronting most Iranians.
More than half of the 62 million population is below 19, meaning that
every year hundreds of thousands want jobs that do not exist.

The daily Hamshahri quoted Mr Zam as saying that at least 12 million
Iranians were living below the poverty line, and 20 per cent of the
population controlled 80 per cent of the nation's wealth - damning
statistics for a ruling clergy that came to power in a revolution
promising greater equality and a more equitable distribution of wealth.
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