In a panel discussion organized by the presidential directorate on Women and Family Affairs, Jaleh Shadi-Talab presented the results of her research done in 2007 on some 300 prostitutes in Tehran.
According to this research, 70% of the women interviewed were very young and had been in this business for less than five years. The majority of women interviewed had begun prostitution around the age 20 and were married once at the age of 15 to 18, considered under-aged according to international standards.
Nine per cent of these women forced into prostitution by their husbands and 18 per cent by their fathers.
Shadi-Talab also revealed that most of these women had elementary or high school education and 14% had more than high school education. Only six per cent were illiterate. 18 per cent of these women were alone, 19 per cent had one dependent, but 65 per cent had between two to six and more dependents to support.
This social researcher found that among the reasons these women resorted to prostitution were having to support several people and the arrest and detention of their father. According to this research 80% of these prostitutes did not have any job.
(State-run Fars news agency, October 19, 2015)
