Ghahreman: Ms. Kar, please tell us about
the existing laws in Iran which protect children.
Mehrangiz Kar: There are plenty of laws within the
Iranian body of law that protect children. For example, Article 1178 of the
Civil Code states that "Parents are bound by law to use all their capacity to
educate their children and not to allow them to remain idle." Article 1167
states that "Parents have both the right and the duty to raise their children."
Article 1173 also clearly protects children. According to this law, whenever
parents' moral corruption or inability to deliver proper care endanger a child's
physical well-being or moral education, the judicial system can remove the child
from the custody of the parents. In such cases, the courts act in response to
the request of a child's close relative, guardian, or the District Judicial
Office. Examples of circumstances in which parents' moral corruption and
inability to deliver care could lead to the loss of custody include: 1) harmful
addiction to alcohol, drugs, or gambling; 2) moral corruption or prostitution;
3) mental illnesses diagnosed by a medical examiner; 4) forcing children into
immoral professions, such as prostitution, beggary, or smuggling; and 5)
repeated physical assault or inappropriate punishment beyond the normal
scope.
This fifth and last clause of Article 1173
undermines the protections offered by the other four clauses by undermining the
physical and mental safety of children. Although it confines it to a "normal
scope," this clause authorizes parents to beat their children. Thus, protective
laws can lose their effectiveness with one subversive clause like this
one.
In the Iranian Constitution, education for children
and adolescents during primary and middle school is free and compulsory.
According to Article 2 of the law "Creating the Facilities and Possibility of
Education for Iranian Children and Adolescents" approved in 1975, "In every
district and location where, according to law, public and free education is
available and children can attend primary and middle schools which are free and
compulsory, parents are required to make the necessary arrangements for the
registration and education of the children under their guardianship." This law
was approved on July 29, 1943, and was amended on June 19, 1971. According to
Article 4 of the same law, a child's father, mother, or legal guardian, who
eschews this responsibility, will be punished by law and is subject to fines.
Although this law is progressive, the concrete
grounds for its implementation are sadly lacking. The law by itself cannot
resolve people's problems. Governments have a duty to provide the necessary
conditions for carrying out the laws on which growth and development depend. How
can progressive laws be put into action when the government does not perform its
function by improving the economic conditions of impoverished classes, creating
employment opportunities, and aiding low-income families with the expenses of
their children's education? In the current academic year of 2007-2008, about
three million children, according to official sources, and five million
children, according to unofficial sources, have been prevented from attending
primary and middle schools across the country. Instead of finding a solution to
this predicament and removing obstacles, the Iranian officials have threatened
parents, mandating that if they refuse to send their children to primary and
middle school, they would be fined up to 1,200 dollars. These threats have no
effect. Low-income segments of society prefer to generate illegal income by
forcing their children to beg on streets rather than send them to school.
In the sphere of employment, the Labor Law also
protects children and adolescents. For example, certain sections of the Iranian
Labor Law approved in 1990 set up a number of protective measures including the
codification of the legal age for employment. According to Article 79 of the
Labor Law, "The employment of individuals younger than 15 years of age is
prohibited." According to Article 80 of the same law, "A worker who is between
15 to 18 years of age is called a young adult worker and must undergo medical
examination before beginning his work." According to Article 81, "The medical
examination of a young adult worker has to be repeated at least once a year and
relevant documents should be kept in his/her employment file. The doctor
responsible for medical examinations will determine whether a particular job is
suitable to the abilities of a young adult worker or not. In the case of
negative response, the employer should accommodate the young adult worker as
much as possible by giving him/her another job." According to Article 82, "A
young adult worker's hours of work are half an hour less than normal workers.
The use of this privilege will be arranged through an agreement between the
worker and the employer." According to Article 83, "assigning a young adult
extra work or night shift or labor-intensive and harmful tasks, which involve
lifting heavy loads with hands without the use of mechanical equipment, is
prohibited." According to Article 84 of the Labor Law, "The minimum age for jobs
or positions which may be physically or morally harmful for trainees and young
adults will be 18. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will implement this
regulation."
The protective laws which were mentioned above lack
solid guarantees. Laws that are not supported by practical considerations do not
truly benefit people. Many children and adolescents in today's Iranian society
are deprived of the refuge and comfort of a family that can afford an education
for them. For this reason, they are frequently forced to work illegally for
opportunist employers in workshops that lack the most basic safety standards. In
exchange, these children receive very little money, no insurance or other
protective privileges that are granted to workers through the Labor Law or the
Social Welfare Laws.
In this sense, in the absence of practical economic
policies and a genuinely accountable government, protective laws remain empty
shells incapable of securing the welfare and happiness of people.
Are there laws to prevent psychological and
physical abuse of children inside of families?
I think I have already answered this question.
Various individuals, judicial officials, and public prosecutor can prevent
physical and psychological abuse of children by filing complaints against
parents or guardians. There are, however, too many obstacles against these laws.
For example, a wife rarely files a complaint against her husband for abusive
behavior toward their children. In this context, any reaction of the wife can
undoubtedly lead to divorce which will have dire financial consequences for most
women from lower social classes. Another problem is the fact that neighbors and
close relations should also testify or present the public prosecutor with
initial reports. This is no easy affair because neighbors and close relations
often refuse to get involved in the internal clashes of other families. But even
if we disregard these obstacles, there are many other legal setbacks.
In the Iranian legal system, a father and his male
ancestral line are recognized as the sole masters and possessors of the life and
existence of his child. Take a look at these examples in our legal code: Article
220 of the Iranian Criminal Code states, "If a father – or his male ancestors –
kills his child, he will not be condemned to qesas [retribution and
retaliation in Islamic Law]. In addition to some taziri [based on
Shari'a law] imprisonment, the most severe punishment he may receive is
to pay diyeh or blood money to the murdered individual's heirs."
Likewise, article 1179 of the Civil Code states, "Parents have the right to
punish their children within the limits prescribed by law."
While the Iranian Constitution includes a number of
progressive laws which aim at hampering the abuse of children, there are also
many regressive laws that cancel out these progressive laws. For example,
Article 1179 of the Civil Code permits the physical punishment of children
"within the limits prescribed by law" or "within the normal scope." But who
defines these "limits" or boundaries? The judge, of course. But if the judge
himself sanctions violence at home, he will seldom press the case against
parents accused of child abuse. Such cases frequently end with some stern advice
or earnest words for the accused.
What are the limitations of these laws? How
can they be rectified or become more useful?
In societies that have implemented effective
measures against child abuse, the law operates in two ways: it requires that
perpetrators of violence against children attend educational courses and often
punishes domestic violence more severely than non-domestic violence. This
perspective has not yet found its way into Iran's legislative system. Meanwhile,
relief networks for helping children in danger of domestic violence are not
formed yet. If Iranian police officers, doctors, and managers of emergency
medical services are trained adequately, they can play a major role in reducing
domestic violence. Independent organizations cannot accomplish much without the
help of a broad network.
Look at the increasing statistics of "runaway"
girls in Iran. The judgmental adjective alone should demonstrate the necessity
of training police and judges to implement protective laws. Why do girls escape
their homes? They often escape from the violence of one or more members of their
families. But instead of incriminating the perpetrators of domestic violence,
the Iranian legal system accuses the victimized girls.
The creation of a wide network will turn the fight
against the abuse of children into a national priority. This network should
concentrate on two crucial issues: heavier sentences for parents or other family
members who abuse children and the education of the police and the public
through the media. The government is not able to uproot domestic violence solely
through legislation, but it can assign part of the budget of Seda va
Sima (the state-run radio and television network) to cultural issues. It
also has a duty to support the independent civil society organizations that work
to promote the rights of children. If these non-governmental organizations
remain deprived of government's vast funding and people's voluntary
contributions, they will be unable to create effective networks to deal with
important children's issues. Therefore, right from the start, we should accept
that prevention of the abuse of children and adolescents depends on a
broad-based effort. Part of this effort takes place in the sphere of
legislation, but other important activities carried out by civil society
organizations require public financial support and other forms of assistance to
create successful networks.
State-run radio and television can play a decisive
role in changing people's views about the punishment of children.
Are there any credible statistics for Iran
on child labor, illiteracy among children, child abuse, child poverty,
prostitution and drug addiction among children, and children who commit crimes
or are in prison?
The existing statistics are contradictory or at
least lack consistency. According to Clause 5 of Article 156 of the
Constitution, the chief task of the Judiciary is "proper action to prevent crime
and reform criminals." In order to perform this most crucial function, the
judiciary has to publish the statistics on the crimes that are examined by the
judicial system every month. This gives researchers a concrete and accurate
dimension to their analysis. The government can also benefit greatly from this
research and these statistics by basing its general policies on their findings.
So far, the judiciary has refused to do so. As a result, many social afflictions
are not analyzed correctly. As an example, researchers do not have access to the
statistics on the number of cases of incest and adultery whose perpetrators are
tried by the judicial system. They are, therefore, unable to determine which
social segments normally commit these crimes. In the same vein, there are no
clear statistics on the cases of child abuse by families. Of course, the
Judiciary is only responsible for the collection and publication of reported
crimes, but even these official statistics can help researchers to gain a
relative perspective on the extent of such crimes. This will enable them to
diagnose the sources of such social malaises. At this point, there are no
definite statistics for what you described. The Judiciary is responsible for
these statistical shortcomings at least in regards to reported crimes. The
government and its related institutions should assign budgets for research on
social pathology and provide universities with necessary means to carry them
out. Unfortunately, not only have such budgets been slashed relentlessly, many
knowledgeable and dedicated professors and researchers have been removed from
Iran's universities.
Are there any reliable and useful services
for children in Iran?
Certainly there are, but one cannot speak of these
services as an adequate solution to the existing problems. Taking into account
the oppressive financial poverty and traditional attitudes of low-income people,
these services run into endless problems as soon as they find injured and
traumatized children. In a country where there are no proper legal channels to
separate children from abusive families, and where there are no suitable centers
to give these children a refuge and educate them and provide them with basic
psychological and material comfort, these services cannot save abused children.
Unfortunately, sometimes activists in social services for children
conclude that it is preferable for a child to stay with the family which
tortures and abuses him/her rather than separating that child from that family
and sending him/her to a center or orphanage. In fact, social services for
children assume that an unemployed father or hungry mother cannot behave kindly
toward their children. Yet, Iranian people refuse to participate actively in
organizing volunteer and relief efforts for children. The position of the
government is also clear. The statistics on unemployment is the best indication
of government's inefficiency. The inability of government to create jobs and
provide comfort for three to five million children or street children
demonstrates the difficult condition in which impoverished children live. Where
administrative and oversight institutions are made irrelevant by a paralyzing
political system, there will be no hope for the existence of an accountable
government.
In your view, what are the roots of a
phenomenon like "street children" and how can this problem be
resolved?
The root of this catastrophe is in the economic
disarray in which Iran finds itself. While the rise in oil prices increases
revenues and economic power of government each year, economic corruption and
financial mismanagement create the current unraveling economy. All Iranians –
not just children – will benefit from an accountable
government.
