Indian women who underwent sterilization surgeries receive treatment at the District Hospital in Bilaspur, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, after at least a dozen died and many others fell ill following similar surgery. In Iran, an official said female sex workers and homeless drug dependents should be sterilized to prevent social problems. AP
TEHRAN, Iran 鈥� Female sex workers and homeless drug addicts in Tehran should be 鈥渃onvinced鈥� to undergo sterilization to prevent social problems, a deputy provincial governor in the Iranian capital said on Sunday.
鈥淭hese women deal drugs, consume drugs and also work as sex workers,鈥� Siavash Shahrivar told the ILNA news agency.
鈥淥ver 20 percent of them have AIDS and (they) spread various diseases,鈥� he said.
鈥淚n addition to 鈥� spreading depravity, they reproduce like hatching machines and as their children have no guardians, they sell them,鈥� he added.
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鈥淭here is a project, a reality, an opinion, agreed on by many NGOs and the social elite, that if a women is sick, and is also a sex worker and has no place to stay, she should be sterilized with her own approval, and not forcefully鈥�.
鈥淭he sterilization should be done through a project to convince homeless women to prevent social harm,鈥� he added.
Last week, when images of homeless men and women sleeping in open graves outside Tehran shocked Iranian society, a cartoonist said on social media that the women must be sterilized because they give birth to children with 鈥渨eak genes鈥�.
The suggestion by Bozorgmehr Hosseinpour to 鈥渂lock the misery of poor humans who enter this world with many diseases, pain and addiction鈥� outraged many people. Some said it reminded them of 鈥淣azi cleansing鈥� projects.
鈥淭he sterilization should be done through a project to convince homeless women to prevent social harm,鈥� [Siavash Shahrivar] added.
He later apologized and said the women should be given consultation for sterilization 鈥渨ith their own approval.鈥�
The controversy quickly turned into a political football with conservative media accusing Shahindokht Molaverdi, vice president for women鈥檚 affairs, of advocating the sterilization of homeless women 鈥� which she denies.
In April Molaverdi said the government 鈥渉as not yet offered any specific plans for sterilization of homeless women鈥� and such plans should be 鈥減roposed and reviewed by the Health Ministry鈥�.
In recent years, there has been a growing crisis in Tehran where street children are born and sold by homeless or poor women living in and around the capital.
Thousands of such children are put to work as beggars or street vendors.
Last week the haunting images of dozens of homeless people living in empty graves in a town outside Tehran caused social media users and celebrities to react with expressions of alarm and sadness.
Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi aired his frustration in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani, in which he said he was 鈥渇illed with shame and sorrow鈥�.
The president responded to Farhadi鈥檚 鈥減ainful鈥� letter on Wednesday.
鈥淲ho can see human beings hurt by social issues who take shelter in graves鈥�. and not feel ashamed?鈥� Rouhani said.聽CBB